The Sacrificed Disciple
by OsirisxX
Summary: The way of the ninja was hard to adapt to. It started with fear and denial, then it gradually became easier over the years. There was still fear. There was still denial, but I've carved this path on my own. This is my story as Uchiha Itachi's twin brother.
1. Prologue

**This story is AU with an OC Self-insert.**

 **Update: (I changed the summary just because)**

 **Old Summary: Uchiha Itachi's twin brother, Asuya, was said to be a number of things: extroverted, lazy, intelligent, and funny, but dangerous, calculative, and unpredictable were never one of them. Who knew the boy turned out the way he did. Eh, they'd have killed him in the crib to prevent his mark on the world. They'd never know, however, that Asuya. . . he was merely a sacrifice all along.**

 **ANNND Enjoy a rocky ride.**

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 **The Sacrificed Disciple**

 **Prologue**

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 _"I wanted to give up the idea I had any control. Shake things up. To be saved by chaos. To see if I could cope, I wanted to force myself to grow again. To explode my comfort zone."_

 _-Chuck Palahniuk_

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There is nothing when people die.

There is only darkness.

That's what I believed. So. . . When I took my last breath and felt something cold take over, I let it. I didn't fight death. It was hard to when I was left with the knowledge that it was inevitable.

Cancer did that to people.

I heard the sobs of my older brother, Ryu, heard his last words, and then everything became silent, and just like that, darkness took over.

But I didn't feel like a corpse. Sure, I wasn't breathing, and my eyes didn't water from not blinking, but I stood in the darkness. A complete void that surrounded me from all sides. It was an emptiness that I stood in. That I was aware I was _standing_ in. So, no. I wasn't a corpse. I couldn't see my hands. I couldn't feel anything. I closed my eyes, and I couldn't _see_ the difference.

 _Where was I?_

I began to move, hearing my footfalls echo all around. Tap, tap, tap. The noise was loud. It was as if it was in my mind. Maybe it was in my mind. The deep subconsciousness of my brain that I fell into when I died.

I continued for what felt like years. Perhaps, it was. I was stuck here, but worst of all, I was aware that I was stuck here. Darkness. All sides. I wasn't aware of time. It was a construct of a human's perception. An illusion to measure the days. Light and Dark. Day and night, but there were no days here. No nights. Just. . .

Darkness.

I wished for something more. Sure, I believed that there was nothing after death, but I had never expected it to turn out this way. I dropped down into a fetal position, and it was completely silent. Darkness. Time. No control. Chaos. Darkness. Time. Chaos. _Oh god, I can't. . ._

If I listened close enough, I could here the pitter patter. The tapping. _ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump._ It was so fast, and so hard to catch, but it was there. Faint but there. It was my only solace. My only comfort in the darkness. It was a warmth that I could not feel, but I was aware of it all the same. It took longer in the darkness to realize that it was a heartbeat.

Was it mine?

Was I alive?

Why couldn't I breathe? Why couldn't I see?

In my contemplation, I almost missed the second beat. It was slow and measured. Compared to the fast tapping of the other heartbeat, this one sounded more developed, like it belonged to an adult's.

What the?

Then there was another.

A third heart beat, and it was the same sound as the first. It was a fast little pitter patter but at a different pace. I tried to think, wondering what this could mean, but the irregular paces of the two fast, beating hearts irritated me. I tried to regulate my heart to the other one. It took a couple of tries, but I managed. The hearts regulated with one another, and I couldn't think anymore. I felt at peace, as if I made a choice and stuck with it with no regrets.

I was alive. I knew that much. I had a second chance.

It felt like more years passed, but it was okay because I was holding onto something. I wasn't alone in this void anymore. There was a soft voice talking to the two fast beating hearts. It was comforting and feminine. I felt a childish part of me instantly associate it with home. However, that instinct to associate sound with safety when I was completely enveloped in the abyss wasn't so easy to dismiss.

I was still aware.

Some sick part of me wondered if this was real, and if so, then I was an old soul with the mental capacity of an adult. . . inside the womb.

Then, the darkness was no more.

It faded into a blinding light that held no mercy even behind my closed eyelids. I could see the veins of my skin in big blurs. I choked, holding onto my lifeline. Whoever the heart belonged to, it was beating with my own pace.

Everything was loud as I held on for dear life.

"Oh my! Would you look at that?" It was overwhelming. The voices were loud and scary. The only thing familiar about the voices was that they were speaking Japanese. A language I was raised to understand alongside English.

"Wh-What is it? I can't see. Please, what's wrong with my babies-" It was that voice again. The soft, feminine voice. It was home. . . She sounded distressed. It scared me.

"It seemed there was a reason the first one born with his feet first. They're holding hands-"

"What-"

"Your twins are holding hands."

And that was my cue to scream.

It was painful when I took my first breath.

Air filled my lungs, and rather quickly, I was pulled away from my lifeline when I screamed no more. Faintly, I could hear my lifeline cry when we were pulled apart, I tried to do the same, but nothing came out. My heartbeat quickened, and it was like a music note straying off course in a song. Our heartbeats were no longer synced, and it terrified me.

I was frozen in my fear, but I couldn't voice it.

The only one who did was my lifeline.

"I-I can't hear. . . What's wrong with him!" I didn't like how scared my home sounded. I wanted home to be comforting, to make me feel safe once more. It reminded me of the darkness where I couldn't feel anything, see anything, be anything. I was nothing with the potential to be something, and that moment of awareness in the abyss was the safest I could be. It was scary, but it was safe.

I realized then, that home was mother, the darkness was the womb, and the lifeline was my twin.

I stayed completely still as the doctors began to take all the fluids from my nose and mouth, but I still couldn't breathe. They were panicking, taking me away. What was wrong? Why couldn't I breathe? I could hear this woman, the one I associated with home, screaming as they laid me down on something soft and took me away. I could hear the numerous footfalls, the voices panicking.

Then I heard a rough voice, deep and grating with worry: "What happened? Please, that's my son." I knew that voice. It was vague. Not as comforting as mother, but it felt safe. This. . . This was protection. I wanted to reach out to him. My last form of something familiar.

"He spent too much time in the womb and accidentally breathed in fluids. Wait- You cant follow us in here, Uchiha-san-"

Then the doors slammed, and I heard my heartbeat slow. When I faded away into a deep slumber from the rest of the world, I wondered if this was the end. Just like that, I born, and I died.

 _Just great._

But then, the next moment, I opened my eyes to see a patch of black hair beside me. The big blurs of pale skin, and those big, obsidian eyes. My vision was crappy since I was a newborn and all, but I knew. This was my lifeline. My brother. The only comfort I found in the darkness besides our mother: my brother. I moved forward, curling against the newborn and instantly felt better.

"Look at them, the smaller one seems healthier now."

"This was your idea. If we get caught, I'm putting the blame on you."

"Come on, the least we can do is this. He doesn't have much time left. . ."

"Fine. . . You're right. Come on, let's go and inform their parents."

"This is the sucky part about this job."

"It has to be done."

I tried to speak, but nothing came out except a coo. I looked at my brother's chest, and then, I struggled to look at my own which had nothing but tubes and wires pinned to me. I closed my eyes. Guess they meant me then. So unhealthy in the old life and so unhealthy in the second life. Just my luck.

I woke up at different times either on my own or by a rude awakening. Doctors and nurses peeked into our incubator out of curiosity when they passed by or they would prepare bottles of milk. With each passing moment that I'd wake, I'd feel stronger, better.

In the few moments that I was awake, I would bring my hands up to my face and yawn, satisfied with gaining control of my limbs like my brother. It seemed that days, maybe weeks had passed since I was put with my twin because everyday I would hear whispers about how I was getting better simply because I was near the one who gave me comfort.

Those in scrubs would laugh at our antics and would wiggle their fingers in front of me. I felt like a cat, drooling in content when I would catch a finger. It was hard to feel mature about these situations. My thoughts were developed, but my instincts and motor functions were vulnerable. It was odd. Did the little angels up in heaven (or something of the sort) forget to erase my developed, cognitive thoughts and memories before they sent my soul into another body? Or was there some technical malfunction in the matrix machine when they put me in another reality?

I didn't know, but I rolled with it. . . It was the only thing I could do.

The other choice was completely going off the deep end and abandoning my sanity.

Another time when I woke at a different hour of a different day, we were woken abruptly when we were both moved into a small crib. There was no more tubes and wires stuck in me, and I had learned that painfully when they peeled the tape holding the tubes on my skin. When I cried, the mean doctor, who was responsible, merely congratulated me. "There, there, Asuya-chan. It's good to cry, little one, that means you have good lungs now. You're a survivor."

Survivor.

 _How ironic. . ._

My twin reached out for me when I had been lowered back to our little, hospital crib, and I had stopped crying. I looked around curiously when the same doctor began to roll us out of the room. I was gazing up at the doctor, watching the surroundings behind the man change. A door was pulled open, and we were rolled into another room.

"It's a good day, Uchiha-san! Your babies are awake this time!"

Then there came a light voice, "Oh, that's great news." It was that voice again. It was home. I had wondered about my mother, but it seemed that both of us were just unlucky to be awake when she held us.

The moment I was picked up by the doctor, I felt my lips tremble. My body wasn't really familiar with this man, and the memory of the tape pulling the hairs off my skin were still fresh in my mind, but then, soft but sturdy hands grasped me, and I was facing this woman. My mother. I instantly stopped my tears and gazed at this woman. Being aware of my past life and of my other parents, it was difficult to view this woman as my _actual_ mother, but instincts told me that she was. She felt safe, and I felt loved, so perhaps, in the long run, it wouldn't be so difficult.

She pulled me closely to her chest and kissed my forehead. I tried to speak to her when she began to talk about her day, and I listened calmly as she began to recall the past weeks and how I had worried her and my father greatly.

"Your tou-san was more scared than even me, Asuya-chan," She whispered conspiratorially, as if she was sharing a secret. "He always went to go visit your brother and you even though you were too weak to be held, but now look at you." She tickled my stomach, and I gave an 'ah' to her. "You're healthy and strong, and it's all because of the nice medic-nin trainees that put you by Itachi-chan. You just felt alone, didn't you? Don't worry, you'll never be alone again." She kissed my forehead, and she held me there.

I stayed completely still, feeling her tremble as she held me. I managed to grasp a strand of her hair as she let out her tears, wondering if maybe she had been more lonelier than me. She was my mother, and it must have been hard in those dreadful days where I needed a machine to breathe for me. In the days where she wasn't allowed to see her own child.

Because everyone thought I had zero chance of living, and I proved them wrong.

And. . .

Wait.

Did she just say Itachi?

Did she just say. . . medic-nin? As in _medically-trained ninja_?

Itachi?

As in Uchiha _freaking_ Itachi?

No, no, it can't be, but as bizarre as it was that I was reincarnated into a TV show (What the hell?), it was true wasn't it? The doctor had called my mother Uchiha-san. Why was I barely having this revelation now? I choked, and then promptly, because I was a few weeks old newborn, I started to cry.

Asuya? That was my name right?

Weirdly enough, that was my name in my old life, my past life. I was biracial. My mother was full Japanese, and my father was in the American Navy, who just so happened to fall in love outside of the country. They had two children. The first boy was Ryu, healthy and four years older than the youngest: me, who was diagnosed with Leukemia.

I spent most of my days in the hospital watching TV shows and movies. I died when he was twenty. My oldest brother, Ryu, didn't have it easy either. He always wanted me to have a good childhood even though, really, I was forced to grow up too soon.

Ryu always was into conspiracies and would tell me stories. Stories about how, really, realities were illusions, kind of like Total Recall, where people would be sent into different realities, universes and be whoever they wanted to be. They just had to desire it.

I didn't believe any of that, but I thought about the end way too much, so it was fun to fantasize, and unfortunately, if I could recall, I was watching Naruto Shippuden during my last moments of death. Vaguely, it was the episode where Itachi was resurrected. His soul passed after he told Sasuke how much he loved him, but that was in the faint background. The sound was muted, and I had looked from the show to Ryu.

My soul passed with Ryu's sobbing. "No matter what, Asuya, I'll always love you," those were the last words I heard, and I passed on with no regrets because knowing that I lived a limited life full of love was enough for me. Or so I thought.

Because Ryu was always there for me, spending his days in the hospital with me rather than being with his friends. As much as I never had a childhood, Ryu didn't either, and I realized too late, that Ryu suffered too. He suffered because I suffered, and it was because of something incurable with a messed up treatment that Ryu would continue to suffer after I was long gone. The world didn't end with my passing in the old life, and perhaps, this world wouldn't end with my passing as well.

But. . . If this was real. . . If this. . . wasn't just some anime, then this universe would surely change with my mere breathing.

If Ryu's conspiracy theory was real then really, what could I do about it? What if this was just like the Matrix? Living a lie, but still believing that I was living all the same? And my mother's touch felt real. The threat of death hanging over my weak self had felt real. Everything felt real, and even though I reminded myself constantly that this was a TV show, an animated one at that, it still felt more realistic than that.

I closed his eyes and rested, wondering what this future would hold now that I was in it. Certainly my presence would change things. It had to change things, I was Itachi's twin brother for goodness sake. That will surely move me from secondary character to main.

Itachi.

Where the hell was I going to start with _that_ baggage?

When I opened my eyes, after being put to sleep by my mother, it was to the silent presence of someone slightly familiar, but not as familiar or as comforting as Itachi's or my mother's presence. Oh, this was my father. This was protection. Safety. It was night time, I could tell by the blur of dim lighting, but I could still see the soft look on the man's face. This man was my father: Uchiha Fugaku. From the show, he never really seemed severe. He had a limited showtime, and it was in the form of one line:

 _"Itachi, you really are a kind kid."_

I blinked and my bottom lip began to tremble as I remembered the tears from Itachi as he killed his parents, _our_ parents. This man, our mother. . . I didn't want them to die. TV show or not, it would be wrong to _not_ interfere. What was I going to do though?

My father's eyes widened slightly, looking panicked as he looked from my sleeping mother back to me.

"Shh," he whispered, adjusting me so that my head was cradled against his neck. I felt a soft rubbing against my back that instantly calmed me down. After a while I was pulled back into a cradle position. "Are you hungry?" My father sat down and began to grab a bottle. He tested the milk on his skin, and seemingly satisfied, he brought the bottle to my lips.

I wondered how it stayed warm the entire time. Could it be fuinjutsu? Ninjutsu? I've always wondered about the techniques in the Naruto Universe.

Maybe there were other people who remembered their pasts and wrote stories about them in their next life. Top selling stories. If that were true, I congratulated all the lucky bastards who reincarnated into the Harry Potter world, and I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't in The Maze Runner or The Hunger Games. That'd suck. On second thought, maybe I drew a not so lucky card if I was to be trained as a shinobi. . . Then there was Obito, Madara, Pein, the Akatsuki, freaking rabbit goddess Kaguya!

 _Well,_ I thought nervously, _at least I wasn't reincarnated as Naruto, who'd have to be in the battlefront of all that._ Then again, if I was going to help my family, that alone would change things.

 _No, No, Asuya. Stop treating this as if it's some open world, virtual reality game. No. This isn't a game. This is real._

My father held me, burped me after I was finished with my milk, and waited until I would fall back asleep. The whole time he looked serene, glancing from time to time out the window before his eyes would snap back to my mother when she stirred in her sleep. He looked jittery, paranoid, as if someone would come in and attack his family.

Was this how a shinobi lived? The whole time looking over their shoulder and constantly worrying about the people they were attached to? I tried to speak, but instead I made soft cooing noises that diverted my father's attention. I reached up,trying to hook his fingers against the green, flak jacket's pouches, but my father's finger easily distracted me, and he grasped my index finger, laughing, and I looked up to see crimson eyes and a playful smile on my father's face.

I looked curiously at the eyes; the three blurred tomoe whirling slowly around the pupil, and surprisingly, it was comforting. I didn't feel anything ominous from the sharingan that was being wielded by my father. I just felt protected, observed, and as I closed my eyes and was lured to sleep contentedly under the protective gaze of my father, I vaguely wondered why he even activated them in the first place if it wasn't to hurt me or influence me.

I contemplated for hours, running through the theories about the sharingan and coming to a conclusion later on as my father continued to play and feed Itachi and me every night in the hospital while our mother rested. He did so with his sharingan activated, looking more and more relaxed despite the restlessness in him. I felt more and more closer to my father, realizing that the man loved me in his own way. A protective guardian, watchful, and finding purpose in us.

He seemed to be coming from missions. Sometimes he would take off his flak jacket whenever it was dirty, and then he would wash his hands of dried blood before he'd touch us. Then, he'd activate his sharingan, looking from his wife softly before looking to us.

Tobirama was wrong about the curse of hatred.

I always thought it was a bit biased of him. It was the Nidaime's flaw as a character, who was known to be calculative and pragmatic. I realized the sharingan was born out of trauma not because it was part of a curse of hatred, but because it was to prevent trauma, like what was first experienced, from happening again.

It predicted threatening movements, so that the user could prevent them from becoming reality. It copied jutsu, so that the user could utilize it against the opponent. It imprinted memories, so that the user could remember them forever. It was a dojutsu meant to protect. It was a dojutsu to remind the user why it must protect and serve.

The Sage of Six Paths was right. He parted his knowledge of jutsu so that people could utilize it to protect and to prevent threats peacefully. Dojutsu, fuinjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, it was all used against his wishes, and so, shinobi born from war.

The Uchiha loved fiercely.

At least Tobirama realized that. It just so happened that those who fell into the darkness of their memories dwelled too deeply in the trauma of losing a loved one. Uchiha needed constant purpose to protect and serve. They needed several bonds, numerous ties to keep them from falling into darkness. If they lose one person, they needed motivation to hold the remaining precious people closer. They needed constant good memories to prevent that trauma from turning into hate. The Uchiha always had to be filled with love.

Or they'd get too comfortable in the pain within the darkness.

My father must have been the few to realize this. I observed it when he would slip into the room silently. His shadow would creep slowly, and he would loom over us. He'd smell of sweat, grime, and blood that was not his. He'd be covered in evidence that showed me he was a shinobi before he was a father. I would coo at him and giggle. It would startle Itachi awake. Then as twins, we would stare into the hard gaze of our father, the frown of his mouth.

Then we'd reach for him, and his sharingan would swirl. Everything about him would soften as he'd smile down at us, and he'd reach down with clean hands and caress our cheeks and hold our hands, and our father would say, "I'm home." Because it seemed that we and our mother were home to him.

We would know that to us, he'd always be a father first.

I would make sure of that.

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 **Author's Note: Here I am once again writing fanfiction to escape from reality for a bit. Hopefully my curiosity on the glossed over parts of canon will fuel imagination of Asuya's and Itachi's life.**


	2. The Academy Arc: Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow, I never expected that many follows and favorites on the first chapter! Thanks for sticking with the story. Any support is appreciated.  
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 **The Sacrificed Disciple**

 **-Chapter One-  
**

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 _"Fear dims when you learn things."_

 _Lois Lowry  
_

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A few months passed and I was already sitting up right and babbling to Itachi.

My older brother (by thirty minutes no less) blinked at me as if he were understanding every nonsensical gurgle. It showed immediately who was going to be the most extroverted one. Especially when I would throw my hands up to anyone who neared us, and then said, "Ah?" The adults loved that.

Even though I had been small as a newborn and had suffered through difficulties in the first few weeks, the medic-nins said that I was going to be a healthy baby. I was active and talking and already causing mischief with my parents. There was one time when my father had left a kunai on top of the coffee table in the living room, and I had taken it as a challenge to use the table as support to get up and reach for the kunai. When I waved it at my father, the man had shunshined and ripped it out of my grasp. They stopped leaving things out now that I, _mostly_ I, and Itachi were exploring more.

It only helped that the medic-nins stated that soon our chakra coils would expand enough to be able to use. If the medic was talking about that incredible cooling balm underneath my veins, then yeah, it was definitely expanding. It felt as if Vaseline was being spread over my veins. It was incredible. Back i my old life, we didn't have another set of veins separate from our blood that gave us superhuman abilities and agility. So I was more. . . aware of it slowly flooding into my system. I wondered if it was normal if I could also sense the chakra in Itachi as well as in my parents.

Oh well, it wasn't as if it was that annoying. Although it did continue to distract me. It was as if I was feeling the flow of water and hearing it running through my veins. It wasn't loud, but I was still _aware_ of it. Distractedly so.

"Oba-chan!" Came the loud yell from the front door.

I knew that voice.

I didn't know until a month ago that Uchiha Obito was our cousin as in once removed, close family kind of cousin. In fact, Obito was also the older brother of five year old Uchiha Shisui, who would usually be brought over for play dates by Obito.

It seemed that Obito's mother was Fugaku's younger sister. I only found out that Obito and Shisui's father was Uchiha Kagami by my own mother, who would affectionately mention that Obito acted quite a lot like the man, who had died in the Second Shinobi War.

I didn't know much about Kagami other than the fact that he was part of Team Tobirama, and also, the Sandaime Hokage's teammate, so it was interesting to see that there were more details than the TV show setting into place. It made the world feel more real, and it was getting harder and harder to be treating this as some sort of virtual reality game. Especially with a feared villain being nothing more than a kind boy, who I couldn't help but grow attached too.

My mother sighed and left the living room where Itachi and I were lying down on a soft mat that had a bunch of baby toys. They were mostly toy kunai and shuriken. Itachi stuck a toy shuriken in his mouth and gnawed on it, balancing it expertly with his toes as he would with a bottle.

I pulled myself to my knees and crawled towards him until I was practically on top of Itachi. Itachi blinked at me owlishly and promptly kicked me in the face. I pulled at the toy because despite having a more mature mentality, I still had rather simple desires. I was still a baby, and I was also Itachi's younger brother. I wanted whatever he wanted. Sure, that meant that I wanted what was best for him, but that also meant I wanted everything he had. We were twins, after all.

"Hey oba-chan! Sorry we were late, stupid Kakashi insisted he get his ass beat-" There was a sound like a soft thud and then, "Ow! What the hell-"

There was a sigh from my mother. "Please behave yourselves around the children, they're very observant, and I do not want them to pick up any bad habits."

There was shuffling before a young, feminine voice spoke up, "Don't worry, Mikoto-san, I'll make sure they're on their best behavior."

"Rin-chan. . ." Obito began in betrayal.

"Thank you, Rin." My mother's voice came closer, and I glanced up just in time to be swept up and away from Itachi, who was pulling back the shuriken from my grasp. I was forced to gaze at my mother, who was staring up at me with a raised brow. "Now behave yourself, Asuya-chan. Don't tease your onichan."

My lips trembled. This woman was catching on fast to my antics.

"No crying."

I stopped and giggled.

She smiled along with me and rubbed her nose against mine. "Good boy." She then handed me to the first one near her before she bid her goodbyes to Itachi.

Rather reluctantly, the boy with grey hair accepted my mom's generous offer, but he held me at arm's length away. Half his face was covered, and his grey eyes were looking at me. He looked unamused when I reached forward to get closer. I felt saliva drool from my mouth.

"Rin-" The boy looked to the girl with tribe paint, but she was already following my mom to the kitchen, listening intently to where our bottles were, diapers, toys, etc. I lifted my hands again. "Ah?" I couldn't believe it! It was Kakashi! My favorite character.

"No."

My hands fell down to the boy's wrists. I glanced to Obito, who was holding Itachi and tickling the boy's stomach. I wanted to be over there. I sniffled. . . Kakashi's eyes widened. "Obito-" He began, panicked. Obito glanced up just as I began to cry. "What did I do?" Kakashi walked to Obito, still holding me far from his body.

"You scared him with your cold existence," Obito deadpanned.

Itachi, who picked up on my distress, began to cry too. Obito quickly shot to his feet. "Oh crap!"

Kakashi looked smug.

Obito, however, managed to calm Itachi in seconds by cradling him to his chest and word vomiting about his day. Kakashi's victory was short-lived. "Don't just let him cry. He just wants love." Obito glared at Kakashi. "Hold him like how I am."

Kakashi looked like he wanted to punch him at the mere idea, but as I continued to cry, Kakashi did as Obito said and cradled me against his chest. He patted my back rather harshly. "There, you annoying-"

I stopped my tears and slapped my hand against Kakashi's eye which closed on instinct. It was the one that would have a sharingan in the future. I giggled at the boy's raised brow.

"That means he likes you." I heard my mother say. "Have fun children. My husband will be back before me, and please tell him I'll be at the hospital for my checkup. I'll also be heading to the market after."

There was a chorus of _"hai"_ from the three as she left.

Being babysat by Team Seven was fun. Every time Kakashi relieved me to Rin to try and escape, I would cry. It wasn't because I hated Rin. It was because Kakashi was trying to escape. So ignoring the giggles of his teammates, Kakashi used the baby pouch sling to hold me to his chest while he trained in the backyard that was connected to a private training ground in the woods.

The kid really was a workaholic trying to strive to be better. I threw my toy kunai, copying Kakashi, and they both looked to the toy.

"Ooo," Obito began childishly. "I'm gonna tell oba-chan that you've been a bad influence."

"Shut up," Kakashi said harshly with a know-it-all glower. "Thanks to you, Minato-sensei decided to have us babysit instead of train."

"Hey, you know that with the war going on everyone is too busy to take care of the kids. Oba-chan and oji-san are Minato-sensei's friends. We're doing them a favor, bastard!"

"Guys," Rin placated. "Did you forget what Mikoto-san said?"

They all looked to her.

"Baba?" Itachi looked curiously at Obito.

"Basta!" I laughed. I was proud of my trolling brother.

Kakashi and Rin glared at Obito. "Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He told Itachi and I.

I pointed at Obito. "Shuw ub."

Kakashi looked panicked.

"Shub ub," Itachi echoed.

Rin sighed. "You guys are bad influences on them."

Obito looked dismayed. "Rin-chan. . ."

It wasn't until the early afternoon that our dad came home, looking like he ran from hell and back. Kakashi was napping with his back against the couch as he sat on the floor, and I laid against his chest drifting in and out of sleep. Obito was holding a bottle up while Itachi laid on the toy mat, drinking sleepily, and Rin was observing them both, looking like she was witnessing a secret unfold. When the door closed softly, Kakashi sat up, but not without cradling my head so that it wouldn't fall back.

I was startled awake anyway and looked sleepily to my dad. "Papa?" My dad paused, startled at the sudden word before he looked completely proud. He didn't even try to hide it.

"I'm home, Asuya."

Kakashi pulled me out of the little sling pouch and handed me to my dad rather gratefully. I was held to his chest with one hand as he looked around. "Is Mikoto still at the hospital?" Dad inquired.

Rin spoke first, "She said she'd stop at the market on the way back." She always seemed like the diplomatic one out of the three.

My dad nodded. "I see. Thank you for looking after my children. Have you all eaten already?"

All three nodded as they readied their things before heading to the door. "We helped ourselves to some leftovers. See ya, Oji-san!" Obito waved to my dad while the other two nodded their way.

"Ah, yes. Say hello to your mother for me."

"Will do!"

I flexed my fingers as if I was trying to grab something. "Ba!"

"Bye bye, Asu-chan," Rin waved happily while Obito did the same. Kakashi, however, ignored me. Psh. I'll break him in soon.

My dad didn't take a shower from the grime right away. Instead he placed me on the mat before he set off to cleaning his weapons beside us. My childhood wasn't normal since we born from an old clan, but it felt normal. It was relaxing to watch our dad clean and sharpen his kunai. So relaxing that I wanted to do it too, but our dad pushed me away whenever I got close.

I didn't cry, I rarely did with dad. I just laughed and treated everything as a game while dad treated it as just a daily thing. Our dad then made a clone to watch us while he left to go hide all his weapons (Thanks to me). The clone entertained the two of us until it puffed out of existence only to be replaced by our dad, who was washed up and dressed in the same causal garb of shinobi pants and a long sleeve shirt without the flak jacket.

"Asuya, say papa again."

I threw my hands up. "Papa!"

Dad chuckled and looked to Itachi. "You say papa too, Itachi."

Itachi blinked. "Mama?"

"No, papa."

"Mama."

Dad sighed.

Already at 24 months old and we were speaking sentences and walking. More so than any civilian children. It wasn't uncommon for shinobi children to be more advanced than civilians in developing, especially when the energy of chakra radiated within them. We had more control of our limbs and our cognitive function developed faster. It was normal. The doctors said so in our monthly checkups.

But I didn't feel that it was normal. Every time my coils expanded and more chakra developed within me, I was progressively sensing things around me. It wasn't just the chakra of those closest to me, like Itachi or my parents. I felt the chakra all around. People passing by our house or jumping from roof to roof in the market places. I could tell which ones were shinobi and kunoichi since their chakra reserves were larger than the dormant reserves of civilians.

If I focused closely enough, I could also feel intentions and persona. Dad's was radiating, powerful. It felt like placing my hand above a flame; warm from a distance but dangerous when close. It spoke of his persona too. He was warm to us, like a flame subdued when there was no threat around, but it was a different story when he would talk to the elders. I had seen it before. How his chakra would sizzle under a thin veil of control. Dad hated the elders, but he didn't show it underneath his cool exterior.

Itachi's felt like sunlight in a way. It was warm, not like fire, but like a presence that was light and associated with happiness. Itachi was a happy baby, and his chakra spoke volumes of who he was. He was pure, kind, and seeing the good in everything. I wondered how his chakra would feel when he'd slowly be introduced to the crudeness of the world.

Needless to say, it was hard to ignore all the chakra around me. The awareness made it difficult to block out their presence. I spent two days restlessly at night, sweating profusely as I felt the rushing waves of chakra all around me. People asleep, people patrolling, people even sparing. No, this wasn't normal. I slipped out of our crib, knowing that I needed to tell my parents or else I really would lose my mind with the lack of sleep.

I slid the paper door open and walked up to their futon. Dad stirred, probably feeling my chakra getting closer. He sat up slightly, sighing when I crawled between the both of them. "What happened, Asuya, bad dream?"

Mom brushed the strands of my hair away from my face. "Asuya, are you running a fever?" She sat up further to touch my forehead while dad moved to turn on the light.

"Mama, I feel chakra everywhere."

"What?"

"It hurts lots." I was shivering now, eyes darting around. Everything felt overwhelming. Maybe it was because none of this was normal in my past life that the different development of this was scarier. Whatever it was, I just wanted it to stop.

"You feel chakra everywhere," dad repeated, glancing towards mom. There seemed to be a silent agreement between them because soon after dad was getting dressed into his shinobi attire.

I nodded, wondering why it seemed so surprising to them. Hm, so maybe sensing chakra from a couple kilometers away wasn't normal. . .

Dad shifted. "Asuya, is this why you've been quieter than usual?" I frowned. I didn't realize that I had been quiet in the past couple of days or that it was considered abnormal as well. Maybe I was an extroverted one. "Mikoto, I'll take him."

It looked like she wanted to protest, but she merely sighed and nodded. She used a small hairpin to pull my bangs back and smiled. "Don't worry, Asuya-chan. The doctors will fix you right up."

The walk was silent to the hospital, and it seemed dad was keeping a close eye on him throughout. My attention span was already short as it was. It felt like people were talking to me simultaneously. I couldn't keep up, and I felt that I'd kill for silence. By the time we arrived to the hospital, the sunrise was breaking through the sky, scattering hues of fluorescent orange and bright yellow. While dad was filling out the form, I stood on top of the waiting chair, glancing over to the chakra on the wall. I saw nothing on the wall, but the chakra was still there. Slightly concealed but not entirely.

I waved at the chakra. There was a moment of pause. Then I smiled when a mask began to sink out of the wall. It was an Anbu. Half of the man's body was hanging off of the wall just standing there and staring at me through those creepy holes of the fox mask. Then the man waved back, and he was gone. Disappeared. I couldn't sense him anymore.

Now, I'm sure I wasn't supposed to sense him, but others were. The Anbu was purposely present as a statement. It was a hospital filled with ninja at there most vulnerable.

"Asuya, come on, the nurse is calling us." Dad picked me up and strode towards the medic-nin who was waiting for us at the end of the hall. "Hello Fugaku-san, Asuya-chan, how can I help you today?" The woman smiled.

Dad shook his head. "Actually no, my son, he's sensitive to chakra. . ."

The medic-nin gestured for Dad to sit me on the exam table after she closed the door. "I see, so Asuya-chan, can you explain what you feel exactly?" The medic-nin's hands flooded with green chakra, and I reared away with a flinch. Whoa there. That did not feel pleasant. Abruptly introduced to me in a rude way that I didn't like. The medic-nin pulled back and tilted her head.

"Mm, it feels weird. It's loud, noisy." I didn't know how to describe it. Everything felt. . . loud. I could feel chakra everywhere. It was in my mom, in the medic-nin, in me. It felt as if I was putting a conch shell against my ear and hearing the roar of my own blood traveling and echoing.

"Asuya?" My attention snapped to my father, who had brushed a knuckle against my forehead to brush my hair away. I was sweating nervously.

I placed the palm of my hand against my ear. "It feels. . . like this." Then I looked back towards the wall in wonderment. Maybe this was what they meant by me zoning out. It may seem like I was looking to the wall, but really, the chakra in the sick person beyond the wall felt weird. Sad. Tired. But roaring with life. Life. . . Then beyond it it became too hot. Too angry. It was. . . Oh god, what was it.

Too much anger.

Who was it?

I sat perfectly still.

Who was it?

The medic-nin copied my example, and her frown merely deepened. "Hm."

"What does this mean?" Dad demanded. He was holding back my unruly hair, adjusting the hair clip to hold my bangs in place.

"It means your child is a chakra sensor, Fugaku-san." The medic-nin was looking at Asuya then to the wall with a calculative look. Dad looked bewildered. "What do you see Asuya?" No answer. The medic-nin sighed and snapped her fingers, grabbing my attention once again.

"Asuya-chan, what do you see?"

"A wall, but, mh, I feel more. I feel something beyond someone." I never felt something to be so alive and so angry. It was hot. Searingly painful and mind numbingly terrifying. I couldn't move.

"Interesting indeed. . . I think your child is especially sensitive. It's not common for chakra sensors to be so sensitive. Usually, chakra sensors have to focus to get that sort of result, and it takes years of practice. To be aware of chakra so early at this age is almost liken to being gifted. Normally, the awareness of chakra is developed further when a child begins to develop in their speech, motor functions, around the age of two to three years, but that only applies to their own. To have a child be this aware of chakra at this age without training in advance is rare."

"What do I do? He hasn't slept in two days, and he always seems so. . . distracted." The concern in Dad's voice had me looking up towards the man.

"I recommend training him in at least controlling his awareness of chakra. To direct his attention to one thing will help him control the overwhelming feel of it everywhere. If it gets out of hand, his attention could be easily distracted. He'll lose sleep. He'll lose touch with. . . many things."

"I see. . .Thank you, shinobi-san. You've been a wonderful help."

"It was not a problem, Fugaku-san. Have a nice day." She waved goodbye to us and rushed out of the room.

I waved as well before I was heaved up by my father, who was looking to be having an internal conflict with himself. "Asuya, you are not to speak of this to anyone but me or you mother."

"Not even Ita?"

"Not even Itachi," His father echoed.

Asuya frowned. "Why?"

"The elder's can't find out," was all he said, but it was enough for me to understand. If the elder's found out they would only want to advance Itachi and my training. Right now it was mild with picture books of hand seals and maps and about Konoha's history. There was also training in flexibility. Mom would have us go through a series of stretches before we ate and before we went to sleep. Even with the stretches, My muscles ached especially when mom would restrict the flow of our chakra so that we couldn't use it to aid us.

It sucked, but I understand why they were doing this. Being from a big clan that practiced the shinobi arts, our parents had to prepare us for reality. They weren't sure when the Third Shinobi War would end, so they had to early our training.

The elder's wouldn't stay out of our parent's affairs for too long, however. Soon they would want more from the children of the main family. They would want to brainwash and teach us of arrogance and dignity in Uchiha blood. If worse comes to worse, they would want us to be the main espionage shinobi in the coup d'etat.

I would never let it come to that.

"Papa, where are we going?"

We were heading towards the opposite of the compound to what I knew where the general shinobi training grounds. Dad was taking this very seriously then, if he wanted to train me away from the eyes of the elders.

"We have to keep this a secret, Asuya. If anyone finds out your potential, you'll be in more danger than you're already in then just for being my son alone." We passed the grounds and headed further into the forest. He placed me on the ground and gestured for me to sit. I did so, cross-legged.

Dad sat across from me in the same meditative position. "Chakra is essential to life. Usually it's not visible unless one has a dojutsu, like the Uchiha and Hyuuga, a bloodline limit, like the Yamanaka or Nara, or if it's manifested in high amounts; such as, killing intent or bijuu. So, those who do not wield a dojutsu compensate by sensing chakra by the aid of others. The Aburame Clan uses their colonies of insects, the Inuzuka Clan uses their ninken."

"I don't have a sharingan yet, so I'm none of those," I began.

"Skilled sensors can detect chakra signatures from a great distance, and can even differentiate each individual just by reading into their signatures. They can tell how many are in a squad, they can tell their elemental affinity, and they can tell their rank by their chakra reserves. They can even differentiate enemies in shinobi forces, who are spies by the fluctuation of their chakra when lying. The only skilled one who can do all that I had listed without a dojutsu or aid is Namikaze Minato. Training in sage mode and meditating for hours on end without eating and drinking had helped him be highly susceptible of nature chakra. It helps him focus, in turn, on other chakra around him."

"Namikaze? Is that a clan?" I asked innocently. It was something I wondered for a long time.

"No. It's a civilian surname. Namikaze Minato was orphaned when he was three years old after his mother died. She was a chunin kunoichi that came from a civilian family of merchants." Dad looked thoughtful. "Now listen here, Asuya. No matter what people say, never look down on those who do not hold a powerful, clan name. Some are born with potential and some work hard for it. Minato was one of those who worked hard for it. Always make sure of your actions. The boy you look down on one day might become the boy you will always have to look up to in rank and respect."

"Okay, papa."

Dad smiled, eyes warm. "Those who do chakra control exercises merely do it because they don't have an awareness of the life force within them. That is why it comes harder for them to gain that control. I've learned recently that Minato merely meditated since he was a child which was why tree walking, water walking, and elemental chakra exercises came easier for him. He spent years as a child getting to know his chakra and all that was around him. It makes me wonder if he too. . . had the same circumstance as you have right now."

"So I sit still?"

"It's not just about sitting still. It's about focusing on what's inside you and around you until the flow of your chakra resonates with nature. Once this is achieved, you will unlock not only an awareness to chakra all around, but you will also unlock your ability to control, identify, and understand it."

I slowly closed my eyes and listened to the early birds chirping in their wakefulness of the rising sun. The leaves rustled gently, and I shivered, feeling the soft caress of the wind against my forehead. I broke out of my stance by the action, but I tried again, instead focusing on my own chakra.

Directing my attention to the roaring in my veins helped block out the noise of the chakra around me. Perhaps, it needed to be started internally rather than externally, but it was easier said than done. I knew it would be difficult. After all, my father was basically talking about a theory that had its similarities with senjutsu: the art of gathering nature energy into techniques.

But gathering nature chakra was dangerous which was why it was stressed, even in the anime of the Narutoverse, that it was to be under the supervision of those the users were contracted under, but there was no limits to gathering nature energy and going under sage mode. The only difference was the principles and the way it was taught.

After all, Naruto was under the toad contract, and, therefore, he learned their ways. Just like how Orochimaru, Jiraya, and Tsunade were under contract, but that didn't mean Asuya had to be under contract too. Wasn't Hashirama self-taught? He taught himself to be one with nature. His father even stated that Minato was resonating with nature chakra all around him before the toad contract.

I cleared my mind and focused. The argument that nature energy was the same was valid, but there was something in the absorption technique that made it have different properties. It was said that Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya were sennin because they could go into sage more.

The teaching principles of resonating with nature energy was the same, but absorbing the energy was a different matter. That was why Jiraiya and Orochimaru's enhanced physical abilities, enhanced ninjutsu, and their summons were different from Tsunade's enhanced sage mode that focused on medical ninjutsu.

Where did the difference fall into?

Not in the organic composition, that was the same. The properties that flowed from nature was essentially similar, so what made it different when absorbed? He looked back to how chakra originated. The Sage of Six Paths distributed chakra everywhere, and it became a life force that people could generate and manipulate to be released from their pressure points in order to create jutsu. Chakra released in the pressure points behind the eyes activated dojutsu. Chakra released in the pressure points from the hands released ninjutsu. Chakra points released multiple places activated taijutsu and enhanced strength. . . What about fuinjutsu?

Well if chakra could be released in multiple places, than perhaps, it could be released in the pressure points within the brain and hands, like how Minato could place seals with just his touch. It was in the imagination. Just like how genjutsu was activated by pressure in just the mind.

So what differentiated all of those jutsus? What was the property of energy in chakra. . .

Well, there was two forms of energy in chakra: the Yin and Yang-

Oh.

How could I have overseen something so important!

Of course it was the Yin and Yang. Yin. The spiritual portion of chakra. It was chakra from consciousness that produced more chakra when anything imaginative came to mind; such as, studying, meditating, and experiencing. This builds chakra in the Yin energy. Those who had high Yin chakra were more powerful in Genjutsu or Fuinjutsu. They were jutsu that required power of the mind rather than physical power. The Yang chakra was the physical portion that could be increased through stimulation, training, and exercising. When this chakra was produced more than the Yin, it would increase stamina and endurance. Those who had higher Yang chakra were more likely skilled in Taijutsu. Ninjutsu was a balance of both consciousness and physical stimulation.

Nature energy was the same, but the energy within each individual was different. That was why each chakra signature was different. No wonder those who trained when young had higher reserves than the average shinobi and kunoichi because they had a head start in developing the Yin and Yang portion of their chakra before they hit puberty where their reserves would stop growing. Unless people were lucky like Naruto, who had a kyuubi to help leak chakra into his growing reserves, no one could pull off being born with huge reserves. They had to stimulate their reserves in both mind and body.

When I absorbed nature energy, I had to take into account my Yin and Yang. It was even more dangerous without any summons to keep me from unbalancing my yin and yang with nature energy. Perhaps that's why those who failed in their training under the toad's turned to stone. They absorbed too much nature energy into their Yang chakra while unbalancing their Yin chakra, and, in turn, they turned into stone toads. Maybe, they turned into toads because they were contracted under them. Perhaps, the same concept was applied to the snake and slug summons.

But not for me.

If I messed up even once, I'd have no one there to help me. . .

Well, that only meant to be something to add to my list of things to do to save my family.

"Asuya."

My eyes snapped open, and I glanced up to my father, who was sitting above a high branch in the shade of the tree. I was sweating profusely underneath the sunlight. My clothes were stuck to me, and my skin felt slightly burned. I glanced up. It was high noon.

Holy crap.

So this was what it meant to meditate.

Dad smiled. "How do you feel?"

"I feel. . . Better." I really did. My chakra felt stable and because I wasn't freaking out and fluctuating my chakra under stress, the flow of chakra around me seemed dull. Like a faint buzz. If I focused on something, it was like I was zooming in and out.

"Good. Now let's go, your mother will be wondering where we are."

I stood up and followed dad home. I flexed my fingers, feeling in control. It was like I understood myself better. It was like I understood my surroundings better as well. My hands formed into tiny fists before I stared at dad's back with a look of steel. I had to continue this training, so that when the time came, I could detect even the most faintest signature that was concealed. With this I could prove to those high in power, like the Hokage, what Danzo and Madara will plan to do.

I had to do whatever I could to protect my family.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews. Much appreciated.


	3. The Academy Arc: Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Here's a particularly long chapter a long with the fourth to make up for lost time.**

* * *

 **The Sacrificed Disciple**

 **-Chapter Two-**

* * *

 _"Like a sword, a word can wound or kill, but as long as one does not touch the blade, the sword is no more than a smooth piece of metal. Someone who knows the qualities of a sword does not play with it, and someone who knows the nature of words does not play with them."_

 _-Miyamoto Musashi_

* * *

Our stretches became more rigorous.

I was bending at odd angles; doing stances and twisting in ways I would have never been able to do in my old life. Itachi was beside me. He looked adorable. His nose was scrunching as he observed mom lithely bend backwards before lifting a leg up and holding it straight. "We count to fifty," she ordered.

I counted out loud, eyes glazing as hands and legs burned, but I did it anyway because my growling stomach overshadowed all of that.

Mom was strict in that if we didn't do our stretches, we wouldn't eat breakfast.

"Alright." Mom clasped her hands and smiled at us. Not a hair was out of place and there was no sweat trickling down her pale skin like it was for us. "Time for breakfast-"

"Yay!" I cartwheeled three times on the grass, landed ungracefully on my hands and feet before I barreled back into the house where dad was pouring himself tea.

"Wash your hands first," dad ordered before I sat myself down.

I pouted. "Hai," I moaned out before I stepped onto the little ladder step to reach an equal height to the sink and began to do as I was told. Itachi didn't have to do as he was told since he didn't need to be reminded.

He stood beside me and also washed his hands while I dried my own. I jumped off the little ladder that was there for us and climbed unceremoniously on my seat. "Itadakimasu!" I shouted impatiently before I dug into my plate.

Dad gave an amused look as Itachi sat beside me with way more grace, bowed his head and picked up his chopsticks.

"Why are you so excited today, Asuya?" Dad questioned as mom passed by and pressed her lips against the side of his forehead in a silent say of good morning before she sat herself down as well. It was strange. That I was excited, I mean, but today was the day that dad was taking us to the training grounds outside of the clan's compound; away from the clan elders.

Today was the day that I could finally explore outside the compound's walls.

Itachi smiled at me, as if he knew exactly why, before he looked to dad. "Mom didn't put tomatoes in our breakfast this time, tousan."

I continued to eat in a casual manner as mom's gaze snapped to me. Itachi lied, of course. Well, mostly. I didn't like tomatoes as much as mom did, and she seemed to base breakfast and dinners obsessively with tomatoes. Not fun. The white lie that Itachi told, however, was because he knew that I didn't want to tell them the truth. It would hurt them to know that the weight of training under the watchful eyes of our elder clan members was slowly if not surely tiring us.

Mom scrunched her nose while dad allowed himself a short chuckle.

"Just for that." Mom calmly sipped her tea. She opened her eyes in that slow, piercing way that was more scarier than yelling. "Tomato soup for dinner!"

I almost fell out of my chair. I was being dramatic, of course, since it was a pretense. "No! Kachan. . ."

"Don't kachan me," mom snipped. "Now hurry up and eat your breakfast."

I did as I was told, impatiently so. Then once I was finished, I gathered my own dish and dumped it in the washer before I rushed out of the kitchen and into the foyer. I sat on the step and slipped my shoes on. Seconds later, Itachi was beside me doing the same thing.

I grabbed Itachi's hand as dad opened the door, and I raced out towards our front gate. "Asuya, stay close," dad admonished, but he really didn't try to stop me. I was a couple feet away, dragging along Itachi. We passed the houses, leaving the private neighborhood part of our compound and entering the more public part that was close to the entrance of the Uchiha compound. The ones that had family owned businesses that the civilians, and sometimes, shinobi outside of our compound liked to visit.

We had our training pouches filled with the standard kit of kunai and ninja wire snugly on our waists. Our weapons were blunted since we were only four years old, but we would have to make do.

Soon. Dad told us that we'd be practicing with live weapons once he approved of our advancement. It wasn't a simple, "when you're older." Instead, it was an ominous, "when you're ready." It was absurd to be reconditioned at a young age and to compare my first, non-violent life to this one. One where violence was a norm. One where child soldiers were a necessity. I was being raised to kill, and I wasn't okay with it.

I wasn't okay with it because Itachi was experiencing the same thing.

Itachi was a child. He was my brother, and I didn't want him to be secluded. I didn't want him to become who he was when he was older. He was slowly feeling the effects of this stressful training regime. I could see the lines slowly forming under his wide-eyed gaze. Lack of sleep. He trained more than what mom and dad allowed, during nighttime. I didn't stop him. How could I? When the first time I asked about it, he replied by saying, "I don't want you to die."

And that was why I was okay with it at the same time. How couldn't I be? When one was raised under an oppressive system such as this, one had to conform to it in order to survive and in order to protect. That was the problem wasn't it? But it wasn't mine.

Not now.

Not in the future.

I had to prepare for the worst case scenario. I had to be strong if I was to become a missing nin.

Dad told us that once he applied us to the academy, we would know all the basics and more. A simple review.

Then, we would graduate.

It sounded simple.

But it wasn't.

Our chakra coils weren't even developed yet, and we were already learning how to tree walk. Our hands weren't even grown yet and we were awkwardly shifting standard kunai around our fingers until it wasn't awkward anymore. We were flicking them to target posts with accuracy until it was second nature. At first, it was hard. Itachi experienced the same clumsiness as I did.

We weren't perfect, but we picked up on things with sheer will and practice. That's all it took. Practice.

We were barely four years old, and we were already learning things children twice our age were learning in the academy. However, coming from a clan family, I knew better than to say it was just because we were clan children, who had privileges when it came to learning the art of shinobi. No.

I knew from the set jaw of my father, from the old smell of blood on his clothes when he would come from missions, from the stress lines barely forming underneath Itachi's eyes, and from the tension hovering over the village like the coming of a storm that we were being prepared for war.

We. . .

We were children of war.

And it was either one was prepared for it or not. The academy taught the basics in surviving. It was up to the child on whether they survived or not. It was the cold truth.

For Itachi and I, our parents weren't going to blindside us.

We were clan children after all, and they were doing their best in dominating our training regime so that it left the elders off our backs, but with it, they knowingly sacrificed a lot of things for us. Our childhood. Our ability to socialize with others. Our sanity.

"Fugaku-sama, it's nice to see you alive and well!" Called an old woman from the bakery shop.

I halted, and Itachi did the same beside him, peering over his shoulder.

"It's Chiyako baasan," I whispered conspiratorially, as we both watched dad stop to chatter with the old woman. I glanced at Itachi.

He blinked slowly. "Tousan will be mad." He caught on quickly. Good.

I smiled, then tugged him along. "Words are tricky. What close could mean for you wouldn't mean the same for me. Close to me means you!" Itachi gave a small smile to that. " It means Konoha!" I spread my arms wide and since I was holding onto Itachi's hand, I lifted his arm wide too.

Itachi's gaze widened as we slowly passed by the arch of the Uchiha compound's entrance. The paint was chipped and worn. Decades older than us, but so was Konohagakure."Is that so," Itachi said blandly. His brow scrunched slightly. It was an obvious show that he was mulling over my words.

We left the compound at a leisurely pace, passing the walls with the Uchiha fans spread on either side. The compound wasn't exactly guarded, but it did feel like a village within a village. Making it seem as if anyone but the Uchiha were unwelcomed even though it wasn't the case. A few civilians walked through. Some outside the walls liked to shop in our small family businesses.

However, what would this symbolize in the future? What will happened after the Kyuubi's attack?

We didn't get a block away until our father appeared beside us. It should have been expected, but I was still startled. There wasn't even a disturbance in the air. One moment his chakra wasn't there, and the next, it was. "What," dad drawled. "Did I mean by staying close?"

I grinned. Teeth and all. "You found us."

Dad sighed but continued onward. I was forgiven. "As long as you are with Itachi." I shouldn't have questioned dad's word choice, but I did. Why was the main concern prioritized to me? As if I had to stay safe more so than Itachi, and that if Itachi was there, I was. He gazed at the both of us. "No matter what happens," he drawled. His gaze held Itachi's stare. "Never abandon your brother."

Itachi's hand tightened on mine. "Hai, tousan."

"And me, touchan?" I inquired curiously.

Dad patted my head. "Stay close."

I glanced away then. Something about dad's gaze had me shaking. He was serious. Too serious for this to be an admonishment for simply leaving his sight. Stay close, dad said. It was as if he knew. . . As if he feared-

No.

I couldn't-

I couldn't think like that.

I won't break. I could do this. I could do this alone, and I. Won't. Break.

"First, we will go to the Hokage's office. I have to give him my report from yesterday," was dad's vague answer. Right. Yesterday. When dad didn't come home, and when he did, today in the morning, mom had made sure that we were outside and not in view of his appearance. I knew from how dangerously low dad's chakra was, and from the old smell of blood up the stairs just how bad it was.

Were they close? At our borders? Dad was merely on patrol duties, but patrol duties in times of war were just as dangerous as being in the front lines.

We walked down the small, stoned pathways. We were taking through the alleyways between the houses rather than through the main streets since they seemed to be busy, but it was calming. I took in the houses and yards. The symbols of unknown seals humming chakra dangerously in some. The marks that declared them shinobi houses. There was one house that had different colored pots. They were hues of green, orange, yellow, and red along the bricked yard. It was colorful. Homey. The one next to it was a complete contrast. Dark with a yard untrimmed and a suspicious looking ninja wire connected to a seal.

Itachi looked just as entranced as I did.

We never left the compound like this.

We never took these routes. The houses weren't that interesting, but it was something deeper in surprise. It was something that expanded our worldview. It was something we knew about, but it was finally something we knew. That this was Konoha. A village hidden in the leaves. A village where shinobi of different clans formed together to uphold a value that none of them upheld during the Warring States Period: a value of comradery and a value of loyalty to not just those who held our blood, but to those who held our values.

The walls around the Uchiha compound didn't seem so oppressing as they did now.

Dad was behind us, and when I glanced at him he was gazing at us with something akin to sadness. He paused when we made it upon a street with two pathways. "We will take the longer way. There is something I'd like you two to see."

He lead the way. Slightly in front of us, as I dragged Itachi along to things that quickly caught my interest. It was mostly seals along the pathways and walls. Then there was a cat that began to hiss when I got too close. Then there was a shinobi man with hair pulled in a pony tail. His hair was spiked up in a bush, and his eyes were sharp and knowing as he looked to us then to dad.

"Fugaku," the man greeted.

"Shikaku." Dad gave a nod. "How long have you been back?"

"Three days now." The man, Shikaku, glanced to us again. "So it's true. Twins, huh? You've got the short end of the straw by kami."

"I'm Asuya!" I chirped. "Who're you?"

Shikaku managed to crack a smile at that. "Oh?" His laughing gaze landed on an unamused father. "And a lively one at that."

"Itachi," Itachi greeted. His gaze was wary. "He's a Nara."

I deflated. Well, I knew that already. The clan symbol was obvious on his shoulder, but it was better to make an impression. Nara Shikaku, if my memory serves me right, was a Jonin Commander; he was the Hokage's second in command. Sharp. Intuitive. If I played my cards right. . . He could help me in bringing Danzo's roots to the surface.

"Do you have kids?" I asked, trying to make my voice hopeful.

Shikaku's face was priceless. Dad sighed as their gazes met. "Not now," Shikaku began carefully. His words left a lot of underlying meanings. Not now because there was war. It wasn't that dad and mom regretted having us, but it was that they regretted having us at this time especially. I saw it in their sad gazes and their harsh stares.

Shikaku stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Dad shifted. "How's Yoshino doing?"

"That woman. . ." Shikaku sighed. "She's still out there southwest of Tenchi Bridge. I'll be part of the platoon that will switch with her."

"So the rest are here too?" Dad asked.

"Most of them." Shikaku smiled. "I saw Yuhi Shinku's genjutsu work when I left, and Might Duy. It's hard to miss him." Yuhi Shinku didn't ring a bell to me, but Might Duy. I could see what they mean if he still wore that green jumpsuit from the anime.

I slowly inched back. It wasn't that they didn't notice us, they were aware that we were leaving their sight. Itachi sighed, but he followed after me. We left the neighborhoods until we were on a hill that had a huge lake on one side and a forest on the other. Then we neared something that was probably what dad wanted to show us. The playground.

Itachi and I paused at the steps.

Laughter. There was laughter and excited screams as children ran around, unguarded and unprotected with no parents in sight. Some were civilians and some were clan children. Some were academy students.

I glanced at Itachi, who had a very reserved look on his face, but there was a spark in his eye. Curiosity. He wasn't going to say anything though. Not unless I pushed it.

I took a step forward, and Itachi's gaze switched to me. Sharply. "Asuya?"

I nodded, and I continued to step forward. Itachi followed me, still holding my hand as he did so. Then, he led us to the playground. Automatically, we were welcomed with open arms. Immaturely so. Ninja tag, it seemed, was a game invented by children, who weren't ninja yet, but it helped enforce the idea of hiding and finding. It was conditioning. "I want the Uchiha," one civilian kid said. He was pointing at Itachi. Not at me. I was slightly hiding behind Itachi because children.

I didn't realize how mature we were until we were actually comparing ourselves to children our age. Although I was an old soul, Itachi was not. It spoke volumes about how intuitive and intelligent my brother was, but, perhaps, it was my influence. How I had him look underneath the underneath. It started with observing. He was very aware of me. To the point to where I would condition him into understanding my nonverbal actions. I would spark his curiosity. Have him learn and have him know. I would have him question.

What is loyalty?

What is love?

What is. . . becoming strong?

So that when the time came, he would no longer question. He would know. When the time came, I would have Itachi know everything.

"You can have the scrawny one?"

I wasn't exactly offended.

Okay.

I was offended because compared to Itachi, I was the scrawnier one. I was skinnier and slightly shorter, but they shouldn't have mistaken that for weakness. They shouldn't. They're just kids, I reminded myself. I needed to stop.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to play."

The kids looked at him. "What? Why not?" Some of them whined.

The one who insulted me scoffed. "Fine! No one cares anyway. You two are Uchiha. Always thinking you're better than us." Then she glanced at me. "Without the sharingan, you're nothing."

I glanced at the symbol on her shoulder. Okay, that was a clan kid. Inuzuka. Pretty bitter of her, but it was probably one of the actions of an Uchiha that lead her to that conclusion.

Itachi's stare became harsher. Okay, I guess this was my time to deescalate. I was the more mature one here, and I'm sure that if I didn't step in now, Itachi was sure to make her feel like nothing by making her eat shit.

"Your words mean nothing." My voice was probably a little harsher than I intended it to be, but it sure did get the point across. Children were staring at us in shock; in fear. Everyone was wary of clan children. I realized, clan children were warier of Uchiha. "You aim to harm and to degrade us, but what happens when your words don't affect us. They're useless. Dull and like this kunai, they will never cut through us." I twirled it around my fingers. "But you do not play with words the same as you do not play with these kunai. They are still weapons. One who knows the nature of weapons, do not play with weapons; one who knows the nature of words, do not play with words." I threw the kunai at her feet. "So prove it," I demanded, lowly. "Prove to me that I am nothing without a sharingan."

Itachi blinked slowly, and then, he turned towards the Inuzuka with a glare that did not belong to a four year old.

She was shook. Her arms were trembling, her knees looked like they were about to buck. Her chakra spiked in fear as if subconsciously feeling the air around my brother and I shift with the exact same intent. I felt it. I felt that our chakra was steadier, sharper like a blade. We didn't belong here, I realized.

Emphasis on we.

I thought that I could put up with this for the sake of Itachi. I didn't need to be social. I didn't need to hang out with children 'my' age because my actual age was 20 years. My mentality was older, wiser, and I did not need to live and condition myself to have social bonds outside of my family. I thought that Itachi did, and I would do anything for Itachi to have a semblance of a normal life.

But we weren't normal, I realized.

We were. . . different.

Here and now, I realized that Itachi had already caught onto the facade those around us weave around themselves. The facade that everything will be okay. The facade that war, here in this playground, will not touch them. It was touched us. Our parents didn't lie to our faces because it was better to be honest.

"Don't worry," mom whispered when I watched dad peal off his flak jacket in front of us. He looked tired and worn. Not even trying to hide the fact that he came from a mission. A bloody one. He had whispered, _'tadaima,'_ and left up the stairs towards the room. Mom watched him go sharply before she smoothed my hair out of my face.

My eyes were wide, and my chest ached in fear. Was that his blood?

"It's not your father's," mom assured.

"Whose is it?" Itachi had asked. He was better in composing himself than I did at the moment.

Mom's gaze was sad, contemplative. She could have lied. We were only three years old at the time, but she didn't. "Perhaps. . . someone's father. Someone's mother. Perhaps, a son. A daughter. A friend. Perhaps, a brother or a sister. Someone _else._ " She looked to us. "But not your father's." Then she lead us to bed and tucked us in. She kissed our foreheads and turned off the lights. I felt her chakra creep towards my father. It was in the same place where it was.

He was sitting down. Probably staring at a candle. He always did so after missions. I realized afterwards, he did so after bad missions. Mom's chakra curled around his own, and they leaned against each other in silent comfort.

We accepted it as it was, but that didn't mean it didn't give us a lot to think about. It was fucked up. _So fucked up._ I stayed up all night thinking about the absurdity of it. I was afraid. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Sometimes, I wished I hadn't reborn. It was selfish. Selfish because this. . . This was what Itachi experienced as well. I wrapped an arm around around my brother, who was as wide awake as I was.

He. . . He experienced this once. In another universe. Alone.

He was alone.

 _So alone._

Itachi turned and accidentally tapped my forehead with his fingers or maybe it wasn't accidental. I reeled back, shocked and forced away from my thoughts. Itachi's face was serious as he said, "I'll protect you." I heard his words, and I heard the intentions behind it.

It'll be someone else, but it'll never be _you._

I closed my eyes. It hurt. I allowed myself to cry. Just this once. The awareness of the void was like an old friend. Always there. Always _inevitable._ I died once. I was numb to it happening again. Itachi. . . Itachi was too young to be so aware of death. To understand what it was. . .

I couldn't let him be alone again.

I couldn't-

 _I won't break._

I realized that now as I looked at Itachi. That he won't break either. We were aware of death. We were aware of war. That self awareness wasn't in these children. They stayed here. They played. They were in their own little world. Protected and unshaken. If they were aware of what was happening. . . If they comprehended the cruelty of reality, they wouldn't be playing. They wouldn't be here. This facade draped over them would be broken-

" _Asuya._ " I felt dad's chakra shift behind me. "We do not threaten," he spoke lowly. His voice was angry. "We do not threaten those of the leaf."

We do not threaten our own.

How wrong dad was.

I was preparing for that alone. I was preparing to expose the foundation built in the shadows. If it was the last, _sane_ thing I did.

I gave a wide toothed smile. "Yes, touchan!"

"Do not stray again." Dad turned, grim faced as his gaze fell over the children, who were still reeling in shock. "Now come, I still have yet to show you my surprise."

I hid my shock and followed after him. I grabbed his hand, making the best innocent, wide eyed gaze I could muster. "Where, touchan?"

Dad sighed. "You'll see."

If the playground wasn't dad's surprise, then what was? Itachi stayed silent beside me. I knew he was thinking, and I knew at the end of the day, he would come to realize what I have if not sooner. Perhaps, he already did.

It was a longer way away, but we reached it. A cemetery. We passed by the marks in the graves. Some gravestones were clean with fresh incense and flowers. Other were old and layered with overgrown weeds. We neared closer and closer to one that was just that. Old and dirty. As if the remaining family members, belonging to the dead that this grave stone marked, abandoned them long ago.

My eyes widened as I read the name engraved in the cracked stone.

"This shinobi." Dad's voice was distant. "Was my teammate."

My throat closed.

"He was a good man. Loyal to a fault." Dad knelt down and brushed the dust away to clear the name. It read:

 _Hatake Sakumo._

"It was loyalty that made him a great man," Dad began. "And it was loyalty that was his downfall."

"Hatake Sakumo killed himself," Itachi said blandly. We heard the gossip, of course. Some Uchiha and civilians cursed the name for starting the Third Shinobi War. They still do now.

"Hai." Dad gave us a side glance. "He abandoned a mission to save his comrades. The details are classified, but I can at least say that I was one of the comrades he saved. I was once angry; bitter. Why was it up to him whether I died for the sake of my village or not?" Dad didn't appear to be with us as he spoke. He was staring solemnly at something beyond us. As if he was reliving something that left him shaking still. "I came home to find your mother at the gate. She was crying as she hugged us. Sakumo and I. . . If Sakumo made a different choice that day." Dad closed his eyes. Tired. "You would've been without a father."

Silence loomed over us.

I knelt down and touched the stone. "It wasn't his fault." My voice was as sure as I felt. Dad was trying to tell us something, but what?

Dad placed a hand on Itachi's head as he knelt down on dad's other side. Itachi stared at me. He was questioning but without judgement. "The Third Shinobi War started because of him."

He was questioning not me, but dad.

 _Is it a fact?_ Itachi meant to say.

"The details are classified." Dad's gaze was hard. Angry even. "We were sworn. . . and yet, rumors spread."

"When they weren't supposed to spread," I finished. I knew where this was going. I knew it. Dad knew it. Dad. . . probably knew _more._

 _"We do not threaten those of the leaf," Dad said._

Those of the leaf. . .

Dad's gaze sharpened as he nodded, slowly. "I wanted to show you this because I want you to understand that to be a shinobi means to sacrifice." He slowly stood, eyes never leaving the gravestone that appeared forgotten with age. Not so forgotten. Itachi and I followed in his step afterwards. "To be a shinobi. . . means to endure." Dad was careful over his next words. "Sakumo was the greatest of them all. He sacrificed. He endured, but his downfall was being loyal to the roots of Konoha without question."

My breath cut short. Loyal. . . to the roots of Konoha.

Without question.

Sakumo's downfall was obeying.

Sakumo's downfall was loyalty.

To be a shinobi means to sacrifice; to endure. What a shinobi must endure and sacrifice is up to them. What will we endure and sacrifice for?

We do not threaten those of the leaf, but what about those of the roots?

Dad knew about the roots of Konohagakure, and he was subtly reaching out to us.

 _Be careful,_ he was trying to say.

But. . .

What if the only way was to be entangled in the roots?

* * *

Author's note: I'm back and ready for some action.


	4. The Academy Arc: Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the third chapter. Thank you for the reviews.  
**

* * *

 **The Sacrificed Disciple**

 **-Chapter Three-**

* * *

 _"If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering."_

 _-Viktor Frankl_

* * *

Darkness.

It was something so familiar to me.

I was in it.

My eyes were open, but I couldn't _see_. I was naked to the touch, but I couldn't _feel._ I heard _nothing_. I was numb. Submerged. Safe in a void of nothing that questioned everything. It was silent. There was too much silence. My only company were my thoughts. My constant questions of where I was, what I was, who I was. Who am I? In that moment of death. In the grey area where I wasn't dead, but I wasn't actually alive either, I realized. . . I was darkness.

 _I born from chaos._

My eyes snapped open. I let out a tiny shudder into the warm room, but the irregularity of my breathing stirred Itachi awake. He turned. Sleepy eyes looked at me with concern. I could barely make out his figure in the room, but I felt rather than saw his worry. The stiffness in my shoulders melted slightly when Itachi's small arm wrapped over my neck, but I was cold to the touch. Inside, it felt like a fire in me burnt out. Perhaps, there was never a fire to begin with.

My eyes glazed as I stared hard at the ceiling.

"Happy birthday," Itachi mumbled.

"Happy birthday," I echoed.

We were five years old today.

Only five years passed, and I have never felt so old and so tired in this moment. A lot has changed in five years. A lot has changed since yesterday. We grew steadily stronger, steadily deadlier, steadily smarter, but I was going nowhere. I wasn't doing anything. When did the webs begin to form? Where did it all start? I couldn't do this by myself. I was just a child. As much as I thought myself capable, I wouldn't be able to stop Danzo or my clan members without force. . . or political power.

"I got you a present." Itachi sat up and began to pull something from underneath the bed. I sat up with him, curious as to what he held in his little hands.

I took it in my hands. The wrapping felt rough and worn as if it had been held often. I glanced at Itachi who was watching me the entire time. "I got you a present too," I admitted. Itachi nodded, as if he expected that, and then, he beckoned me to unwrap it.

I tore at the brown wrapping to reveal a box. I opened the box and took a sharp intake of breath. It was a journal and a case of pencils. . . along with ink and a brush. This was. . .

My gaze fluttered towards the closet where the loose board hid my secret treasures. Mom and dad encouraged us to write, but they didn't expect us to be so advanced as to where I was. Which was why I stole loose papers around the house and kept my secrets to myself while I proudly showed them my expected writing with the paper _they_ gave me. If it was the other way around, they would ask, and if I hid it, they would find it without a doubt, but Itachi. . .

Itachi _saw_.

He saw all of my ideas. My ideas written in messy, but advanced writing.

My ideas about fuinjutsu.

My advancement on meditating.

My horrible attempts at drawing seals that I would memorize around Konoha buildings.

My philosophy on life. . . and how cruel war was. . .

It was childish of me anyways for hiding it underneath a floorboard from Itachi of all people, but also, it was embarrassing to know that Itachi probably sat in that closet, shifting through the disorganized stack of random papers and trying to read what my random scrawls of notes talking about things, I never talked to anyone about, were. I didn't even have any idea on how I could get started on fuinjutsu. I hoped he didn't see the one talking about Minato and his famous hiraishin no jutsu or. . . the one about sealing food in my mouth, so that I could hide the sweet intake behind mom's back.

"Itachi," I began. "You-"

"Fuinjutsu. . . Meditating. . ." He paused, but I heard the unspoken word, 'sensing.' His gaze was wide, half scared and half excited, but most of all his gaze looked encouraging. "It is not encouraged in our training."

I looked away then, internally curling in on myself. "I know." It was why I had to do better in the other arts of the shinobi in order to make up for it. The Uchiha were powerhouses. Ruthless in Genjutsu and short range combat. We were never known to specialize in fuinjutsu. It wasn't a weapon, as most would say. It was merely an art. Shinobi planned in combat. Fuinjutsu was planned with time. Time was something shinobi didn't have in the battlefield when a split second decision meant life or death.

But in my situation, I had nothing _but_ time.

"But. . ." Itachi tapped my forehead, and I flinched to attention. "I believe in you."

I hesitated, but I managed to give a shy smile as I closed the box and dug underneath my pillow. "Here's your present, aniki."

I dropped the wrapped book in his hands and waited eagerly for him to open it. He did with all the calm grace he could muster. Psh. I knew he was excited. His gaze followed the title, and he gave an amused smile. "Thank you." He opened the hard leather and thumbed the first page as he sat back comfortably against his pillow. I paused. Wait. He was reading it now?

My heart warmed at the sight.

Mostly because he took my present to heart just as I did his. It was the first book I read in the public library of Konoha a couple months ago. It was a book written by Senju Tobirama himself, and it was titled, 'The Shinobi Conduct.' It was what the academy based the shinobi rules after, but the book was much more complicated than that. It spoke of personal experiences. Nothing incriminating, but they were experiences of a man who lived through two wars. He born in war, and he died in war. The book reminded me much of Sun Tzu's book, 'The Art of War,' mostly because it was written wisely and vaguely. He spoke of strategies; of what shinobi must do in order to kill their emotions.

However, contrary to it all, in the end, he wrote:

"One who learns the rules of the shinobi will then know what it truly means to be a shinobi. "

The man was a genius. Truly, and I was probably one of the few living who knew this. Only because I've watched the anime and not because I knew him.

He was the commander in chief. The leader. The second dictator of Konoha.

He lived through two wars.

He born in war, and he died in war.

He died _sacrificing_ himself to save his students.

He abandoned his role and duty after the lives of his comrades were compromised.

He wrote this book knowing that what he spoke of wasn't ideal. The rules were important to have those conform to something if they didn't have the morality to adapt and cope with situations. He did this knowing that morale was different in every shinobi, but one never went wrong in being loyal to Konoha if they followed the rules. That's why these rules were a basis in the academy. They would nurture us to obey. They would provide us with comrades to be loyal. They would shape us into shinobi of the leaf. What that really entailed had us to be the most feared, powerful village.

The shinobi conduct was broken by the most influential ninja in Konohagakure because the most powerful ninja would not be controlled. The most powerful ninja controls, and that's where Danzo's authoritarian thinking messed with the entire lives of important characters, like Itachi and Sasuke. They've done horrible things. Things that can't be forgiven, but they were only a product of society: the source of corruption.

Thinking about it for five long years, I knew what I had to do.

I opened the box again and took out my journal.

On the very first page I wrote my own introductory on fuinjutsu, and how it needed more yin chakra rather than yang. The power of the mind was more necessary than the use of chakra. Whereas yang chakra was needed in more physical aspects, such as, ninjutsu or taijutsu. The more the chakra, the more powerful the blow. I was on the third page, ending my introductory with the conclusion that the beginning of mastery over fuinjutsu first started with meditation.

Consciousness needed to grow, and to stimulate consciousness, one had to become more in tune with their spirit. It made sense now that I thought about it. The reason why Jiraiya and Minato were known as masters of fuinjutsu was because they had a style that couldn't ever be copied and reproduced by other shinobi. If so, then there would be thousands of ninja swooshing around with the hiraishin justu tag wrapped around their kunai or there would be ninja's easily being able to master being a sage. If I remember correctly, Jiraiya was able to seal Itachi's black fire caused by the tsukiyomi with a seal.

Since such a horrifying jutsu became a problem when Sasuke was rogue, how come no other kage or shinobi was able to replicate that?

Jiraiya sealed eternal, black fire that was known to burn forever. Minato summoned the shinigami from a seal in order to cut the kyubi's chakra in half, sealed the yang chakra of the kyubi inside Naruto; the yin chakra inside himself, and sacrificed himself to the shinigami. Orochimaru sealed part of his own spirit into the curse marks in order to influence the cursed people with corrupt chakra, but why couldn't such powerful seals be replicated?

It was because they were them.

It was so simple. They wrote their own language in seals, one only they would understand and be able to use. If I created a language in seals so complex that it would only react to my chakra; to my spirit, then of course no one else would be able to truly replicate it, but they could decrypt it. They could make sense of the components in my seal and create their own seal that could produce the same affects, but they wouldn't truly be able to copy it. They would simply just be inspired.

After all. . . the hiraishin jutsu, although it had Minato's touch, wasn't created by him. It was originally the Nidaime's jutsu. All it took was inspiration. Minato probably started fresh and created his own seal with the same affects that the Nidaime's own hiraishin was known for. _It all starts with an idea,_ I wrote down, _because fuinjutsu is only as great as the imagination._

"It's time to get up." I blinked away from my thoughts, startled at seeing Itachi already dressed and ready to go. The book I gave him was closed and sitting on our nightstand. I looked to the window to see that it wasn't yet light outside, but it was a hazy inbetween that I was familiar with. It was time for our stretches. I quickly slid out of bed, brushed my teeth, and changed into my training clothes before I went to my knees at the closet and pulled the floorboard up.

I slid the messy stack of papers into my journal and placed it into the box. Hiding it in front of Itachi was a show of trust. Now that he knew, I wasn't going to try to hide it somewhere else in the room. We rushed downstairs towards the back of the house. Itachi and I slid the paper doors open on opposite sides to reveal the private backyard of a forest. Small beads of water slid off the thin blades of grass, and the smell of rain before a storm had me pausing for a moment to enjoy the view.

It was peaceful. A soft touch of nature undisturbed by what raged in the outside. Itachi was the first to mark his footprints across the clearing. A butterfly with hues of gold and mandarin flitted around the clearing, and it drifted passed Itachi's head, lingering around him as if pondering if it should land on him. Itachi kind of glanced at it and lifted his hand hesitantly, wishing maybe that it should, but the butterfly was startled away. It fluttered towards mom's little garden of herbs, and life went on.

I strode towards my brother, we began our daily exercises without the supervision of mom and dad. They weren't in the house as far as I could sense. Since it was Sunday, they probably went about their daily duties thinking we'd sleep in, but dad and mom had silently agreed, months ago, that we were responsible enough to be without their supervision.

In my old life, leaving five year old children by themselves was taboo. In this one, it was a norm.

As a military village, parents in times of war were expected to continue with their duties with the exception of only the mother having a one year break with required Physical Training (P.T.) in order to continue to be at their top warrior physique. Mom was first given light duty at the hospital, then she filled in dad's role as Police Chief in the Uchiha Police of Konoha, and now, she was outside the village, probably doing courier missions. Dad still did patrol around Konoha's borders. We were alone, without parents, and it was normal because the responsibility to Konoha's children extended farther than parents.

Konoha, unlike the other villages, knew where the true strength lied in.

Once we were finished with our stretches, I bounded off to the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a note from mom scribbled at the top. Along with dad's neat handwriting printed underneath. It showed that they both left at separate times. Mom left earlier while dad left later.

 _I won't be back until next week. Money is on the table to cover for any expenses. Spend wisely, Asuya. Both of you are to look after each other no matter what. If you need anything, our neighbors are informed that your dad and I will be on overlapping missions requiring our specialties. If you do not wish to make your own food, they have extended dinner invitations to their homes. The hokage-sama, himself, expects you two to visit his office, within these days that we are absent, as to give him company. He is a busy man. The fact that he is acknowledging this situation and wishes to care for you two while we are gone is something that should not be ignored. I love both of you with all of my heart, so be dears and don't give kachan any unexpected trouble when I'm back._

I probably shouldn't have been offended about the spend wisely part, but I slightly was. Did I seem irresponsible? I counted the money we had, and mentally calculated how much we should spend to keep us afloat with the next four days. As much as it was a norm to leave five year old children, _five year old children for christ's sake_ , I was still fairly nervous because I was five years old, and I had an actual five year old's life to look after. Itachi read dad's part out loud while I had a mental breakdown:

"I'll be back in an hour or two to take you to the academy. A required assessment is necessary in order to measure your skills and fit you in the classes necessary to graduate."

Short, simple, and to the point. Sounded like dad.

Itachi placed the note back on the table and moved to the refrigerator. "Kachan made us breakfast." I gave a nod and began to set our plates on the table while Itachi heated the food. We ate in mostly silence, and when we finished we cleaned the kitchen and got ready to head out. It was still windy. Clouds rolled over us as we walked steadily outside of the compound. We were stopped by Chiyako baasan, who handed us two bentos for lunch even though we told her that father would be meeting us by noon.

"Nonsense." She ruffled my hair, and I flinched back, grabbing Itachi's hand defensively as if that alone would stop her from treating me like a pet. Plus, who gave her the right to do that? Itachi got an adoring pat on the shoulder as the old granny coddled us. Why did he get a respectable pat while I got the messing of hair treatment? "My, my _._ Now off you go." She ruffled my hair again. I pulled Itachi away and scrunched my nose.

Itachi's smile gave a warm tone, shy and vulnerable. He held the bundle of our bentos in his hand while he held my own hand in his other. "We could go over the basics that they'll test us in before we train," he offered.

I nodded and continued to hold his hand as we walked across the village. Of course, we got side tracked along the way. Mostly me. We took the long route to training ground three. Itachi thought that it was my favorite training ground, so he didn't protest to going there all the time. I only dragged us there all the time because it was reserved by Team 7, and we still have yet to run into each other. Accidentally.

We moved down the streets towards the bridge where Team 7's meeting spot usually was in the anime. I hopped onto the railing and began to casually walk on top of it, gazing down at the river roaring underneath me. Itachi poked his head between the railing and stared at both of our reflections. He had a soft smile, looking almost at peace if it weren't for the small little stress lines forming underneath his eyes. In the anime they looked extreme, making him look way older than in his early twenties.

This Itachi will be healthier.

We set aside the bentos made for us by Chiyako baasan and headed straight into the forest. There was a small clearing favored by us south of the training grounds. It was the one dad had took me to years ago when he first learned of my. . . specialty. We ducked underneath the foliage and stepped over vines and protruding roots until we made it to our destination. There, we practiced the basics that dad and mom had drilled into our heads. First, they'd do the written test. It was a concentrated test that questioned the shinobi conduct, geography, and the calculative skills that involved intense mathematical skills. When mom and dad tested us, it almost reminded me of those intense questions Naruto struggled over during the Chunin exams.

They very much were when mom explained that the questions were developed in order to sort out the gifted in the academy. People who scored high tended to be set through the academy classes until they graduated early. The gifted were sent to their deaths earlier, and if they made it out alive through the vigorous testing of field skills, then their rate of survival would sky rocket.

It made me wonder if Shikamaru knew this during the anime. It would explain why he'd put minimum effort into tests.

It also made me wonder if they stopped sending the gifted children through questionable psychological and physical training when the infamous prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, killed most of the Uchiha clan. . .

Would things have been different if Namikaze Minato was alive?

"You're distracted."

I paused and looked up from our study guide, flash cards. "I guess I am."

"You smile when you think about something that worries you," Itachi mentioned. "It's a sad smile."

I didn't realize. God, I must look like a sociopath. "Oh," I commented stupidly.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. His gaze was wide and a little desperate. Itachi usually always asked this. It was as if he couldn't read me, but he at least knew when something was wrong.

"I'm thinking about the test." Itachi nodded, as if encouraging me to continue. I sighed. "It's easy. You know we're going to pass it with flying colors."

Itachi set the flash cards down and slowly stood from his spot before brushing off the leaves from his shorts. "I know."

"They're going to send us to war after that." I stood along with him and positioned myself for a fight.

Itachi gave an understanding nod, and we both bowed in respect before we shot forward with ease. I was the first to initiate combat. I punched forward, and I watched with a sharp gaze as Itachi spun to the left underneath my punch and elbowed me in the back. It was like a switch as I performed the kawarimi no jutsu. I puffed in smoke and was replaced by a log almost instantly before I appeared above Itachi.

He lifted his upper arm up to block his face as I lunged down with a kick. He blocked my attack instead of dodging, and I did a coin flip in mid air, Lunging my other leg to the side. he grabbed my ankle and threw me across the field. I crashed lightly, rolling across the dirt before I went back at it. I was throwing punches, left and right, fainted and swung my leg up. He blocked it with one hand, but he left the opposite side of him open.

I tucked the leg that was blocked underneath me. Then I did a hand stand to support my body as I swung my other leg and swiped it underneath Itachi. He fell down with a huff as I swept back up and was about to aim for another kick to his ribs, but he jumped up into the trees. Kunai flew. Not from where he disappeared to, but behind me.

I cartwheeled to the side, knowing that it would have been a close call if not for feeling him do the kawarimi no jutsu in the shadows. My gaze cut to the side and I nailed him form where he was. Then, focusing on where Itachi was I threw my kunai. With each seal I formed I shaped myself into the same matter and composition of the flying kunai, and then, I replaced myself.

Itachi stared at me, wide eyed, as I replaced the kunai that thudded behind me from my original spot. I punched forward, hitting him hard on the temple. He grabbed my shirt as we fell down the trees and twisted my body underneath him. Then he kicked off and began to form the seals we've watched our father do many times at the lake.

It was the Gokakyu no Jutsu.

Shit.

I focused on whatever I could find, mind numbing as I watched him breathe out fire the size of a pond. It was a close call. I breathed heavily as I landed roughly a little away from the fire, watching the great flames eat away at the log that replaced me. The orange flames licked away at the leaves and trees, burning everything in its wake until there was no more, and Itachi was standing next to me within that moment, His kunai poised at my neck.

I could feel him breathing softly behind me. A calm rhythm that tempered my thundering heart.

I slowly grinned at the adrenaline rush. It was a close call. That small moment was enough to awaken my senses. It was enough to make me feel as if I could do anything.

I felt alive. . .

"I yield." I turned slowly to see Itachi staring at me with a questioning gaze.

"What?" I asked as we intertwined fingers in order to end the seal of reconciliation.

"How did you know I was behind you. That time. . ."

"Uh." My crazy grin faded as I mellowed at his question. "I heard you. By the way, niichan, what if you really killed me?"

Itachi sheathed his kunai. "It's good that you dodged, Asu," he said pleasantly.

I scrunched my nose. "But the kunai to my back? The fire?"I teased. "What if I died, niichan?"

"I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't sure you'd make it out alive."

"Just admit it." I put my arm over his shoulders. "I pushed you, didn't I?"

He blinked slowly. "Pushed me?"

I gave a noticeable shudder. Scary.

We packed our things and left the forest until we made it into the larger clearing next to the raging river. We sat near our bentos and ate our lunches while we waited for father. He said he'd come for us once he was finished and find us he did. He appeared near us in a quick shunshin and slowly looked over our ragged appearance.

"I take it you were studying," he stated casually as he sat near me and looked over the bentos given to us by granny Chiyako.

"Mhm!" I nodded happily with my mouth filled with food. Dad sighed and began to rub away at the sticky rice on my chin. I pushed his hand away and did it myself with a disgruntled gaze.

Itachi watched us in contemplation as he ate his and my share of baby tomatoes which I discreetly put into his bento when he wasn't looking.

"Well eat quickly." Dad stared up at the sun in contemplation. "We still have time before you must go to Aburame Kyo-sensei for testing. . ."

"Time for what, touchan?" I asked eagerly.

"Time to train you on better hiding yourselves. If you can't shut your mouth as I ask you, then maybe you'd be better at hiding your presence." I scowled as he patted my head.

"Tousan, where were you?" Itachi asked.

"I was at the Uchiha Police Quarters. I'm scheduled to leave tomorrow morning to a patrol mission northeast of here with three others, so I needed to make sure everything would be prepared for my prolonged absence."

I paused. "Prolonged?" Dad sighed as I swatted his hand away.

"Yes. Once you pass your tests today. You will be scheduled to begin school tomorrow morning. You will meet with Kyo-sensei today at noon in room A 161. He will test your abilities and place you in the class that you fit into most."

Dad helped us pack our empty bentos before he lead us back into the forest. Dad had presented almost everything in training except this. He hadn't touched on the subject of hiding. Such as, chakra suppression training, sent blocking, and sound suppression. It was basic advice, and now it was up to us to get better. Without dad to supervise us, we supervised each other. Sneaking up on each other and bouncing off ideas until it became more challenging for Itachi, mostly, to sneak up on me.

"It's not the sound," Itachi mused aloud. I rolled off of him, taking my kunai away from his throat and rolling it deftly between my fingers before I hid it back into my pouch. He sat up and watched the leaves flutter off of his hair to land on his lap. "Or the scent."

I scrunched my nose. "I'm not really good at that," I admitted.

He nodded. "Then it's my chakra." He gave me a once over. "How? I made sure to center it here." He petted his tummy.

It was what dad taught us. Chakra came from the core and cycled throughout our bodies. To have control, we had to roll our chakra into ourselves in order to suppress it. One slip up, and it could flare or leak. Any superior sensor could catch onto that. So, he trained us with leaves. There were a lot of chakra control training exercises. There was the one where one trained with leaves by having them stick to certain parts of your body in order to concentrate the flow of chakra in certain parts of the body. It helped in order to advance to water walking or tree walking, but we've already mastered that a year ago.

Then there was what dad called "The Flow." It was a chakra control exercise that had the leaves stick to a part of your body and letting it flow over you, following the stream of the chakra in your veins. It was harder than the sticking one. More advanced for those who had precise chakra control. So if the leaf started at the palm of my hand and I dragged it across the main chakra points to the core of my stomach, then I can immediately snuff my chakra system by pulling my chakra all at once into my core. It was about preciseness.

"I can." I hesitated. Dad said that I shouldn't talk about this with anyone but mom or him, but the way Itachi looked at me now. It was as if he knew or at least had an idea about my ability. "I can feel you coming."

"Feel?"

I nodded.

Itachi blinked. "You can sense me, Asu?"

I scrunched my nose at the endearment.

I handled the kunai given to me. It was oiled and glinting underneath the sunlight. I withheld the shiver as a cold breeze passed by us. The leaves danced around us in a mini whirlwind before they settled back onto the ground. We were ready. Dad had switched out our blunted kunai to sharpened ones. We still had to train with them strictly under his supervision, but even if we did so, that didn't mean we didn't get wounded here and there.

That was the point.

Pain was necessary in order to succeed. Where we couldn't dodge before, we dodged after. Where we got cut before, we made sure not to try to get cut afterwards. Dad pushed us to our limits, but never further than that when we were handling these weapons. It was our job to push ourselves further, to strive to be better.

And we were doing it in the public training grounds of Konohagakure instead of the supervised training ground within the Uchiha compound. We were hiding in plain sight. No Uchiha dared to follow the clan leader without being sure that they wouldn't get caught, and the clan elders were just that: elders. We trained every day, during the morning in the public training grounds by ourselves, and we trained in the evening under the watchful gazes of the few elders who were interested in our progress.

"There are a lot of necessary skills you will come to learn," Dad said as he stood before us in the middle of the forest. "Ninjutsu. Taijutsu. Genjutsu, but there is one skill that will be necessary in survival." We looked at him with wondering eyes. "Hiding." Then he vanished. Right. If a ninja couldn't hear or see you or sense you, then they wouldn't know you were there.

The element of surprise.

Itachi and I disappeared as well with simple replacement jutsus. I reached into my chakra and molded it into the core of my stomach. I brought it all together, as if controlling a candle flame. I made it smaller and smaller, barely visible, then it vanished.

"Not good enough." I didn't have time to dodge the kick aimed at my back. I let the fall take me, but I gracefully recovered by rolling and bouncing to my feet. He wasn't there anymore. There was a rustle in the bushes, and Itachi came bursting out with a grimace as he landed next to me.

"How did you find me?" I asked lowly.

"Your smell. I can hear you." He paused. "How did you know. . ." He looked to where he burst through without shifting a single leaf.

I shrugged. "Chakra."

Itachi nodded in acceptance.

Dad appeared before us. "There are many specialties a shinobi could have to identify where someone is or where they will be. The higher the rank, the more difficult to beat someone at their specialty. To be a strong shinobi, you must be able to counter that by hiding. You must be one with your surroundings. You must silence your footsteps, leave a leaf undisturbed, shed no dead skin, and snuff your chakra." Dad smiled. "I will show you how."

We spent the rest of the day brutally getting beaten down and found out within our hiding spots, but I've noticed the improvements we've made. We bounced off ideas from each other. Where I was good at hiding my chakra, Itachi made up for in being silent. We taught each other, and our father taught us what was right and what was wrong by continuously finding us and leaving tips. Shedding skin and sweating was a more advanced area to cover. It was part of our bodily functions, but dad explained that as shinobi, we found ways around that. Hiding your smell, you must first stop shedding dead skin. To stop shedding dead skin, you had to suppress it. Hold the smell close to your body.

Silent. Stay silent.

I landed on a tree branch and closed my eyes to focus on the blazing chakra that belonged to dad. He was farther out, searching for us. Itachi shifted beside me in a way to where he was sliding off the branch. It looked accidental, but he did a back flip and landed feet first. No sound. Not even a leaf on the ground was stirred. I grinned toothily and did the same. I landed beside him and paused when I felt two flares of chakra from a distance, getting closer.

They didn't belong to father, but something about them felt familiar and safe.

The chakra signatures got close to each other, and then they bounced off, gaining distance. Taijutsu. They were sparring, and they were getting dangerously close. I shifted when one of the chakra signatures did a replacement jutsu right in front of us just as the other one flared, and then I felt heat. Surging heat from a jutsu.

We both shifted as the blazing fire became visible, searing through the trees and heading straight towards us. Time. There was no time to react. A kunai landed in front of us with unfathomable speed, and a man with yellow hair and blue eyes, that blazed just as fiercely as the fire jutsu, appeared before us. He bent, hooked an arm around us both, and then there was a pull.

My breath caught as we appeared in another part of the forest. It was harmlessly out of sight from the blazing forest yards away. The fire was put out by a water jutsu, then the chakra signature that put out the fire vanished.

The blond man seemed silent for a moment as he stared at the both of us. Realization flooded his questioning gaze as he took in our identical outfits and the Uchiha crest symbols on our back. "Ah, you two must be-"

I glanced slightly to the right where I felt dad's chakra flare.

"Minato," Dad's voice greeted dryly as he passed by the young man. He knelt down to check if we were okay. Priorities, after all.

"Touchan!"I grinned wildly, and dad sighed because he knew why. One day, not too long ago, he told me about one Namikaze Minato. A man who probably has the same gift as I do, and he was standing right before me in all his glory. He looked more intimidating then in the anime. He was real flesh and blood. Like a cosplay that topped all of them off. His hair was shaggy and uncut, his eyes were sharp and blue. His face was androgynous, and his flak jacket was worn. There were pouches on his sides along with scrolls. The famous three pronged kunai were clipped to the belt on the side. Sharp ended with a tag wrapped around the handle in a foreboding statement.

This.

This was Namikaze Minato. The future Yondaime Hokage.

He was the key. The key to stopping this.

I was too young. I was strong, but I wasn't strong enough to defeat Danzo, to defeat the Kyubi, to defeat. . . Obito. . .

But Minato and dad were. I just had to find a way-

"Asuya, Itachi." Dad placed a calm hand on both of our heads and lightly bumped our heads together in warm admonishment. "That's enough training for today."

The blond haired man laughed openly at both of our expressions. Itachi did look quite admonished, but I was openly staring, not feeling affected by dad's public display of affection. Itachi stood up and pulled me to my feet, looking embarrassed at almost being caught in a jutsu.

I was still stunned as I stared, wide-eyed at Namikaze Minato. His chakra. It was blazing blue. Fierce but warm. It wasn't hidden. It didn't have intent, but it was there all the same. Strong and stunningly bright. I couldn't ignore it. It was _powerful._

Then I looked away towards the right where a chakra signature appeared, hidden in the trees.

Minato stared at me for a moment and then smiled brightly. "Kakashi." There was laughter in his voice. "Why are you hiding?"

There was a muffled huff, and then Kakashi landed lightly on his feet in front of us, scowling and staring, specifically in my direction as if my mere presence offended him greatly. Then he shunshined and landed next to Minato.

His glare was still in tact. "I wasn't hiding."

Then there was Obito, appearing with Rin at his side, looking as if he just saw a ghost. He was staring at dad. "I'm. . ." He couldn't find words. He almost killed the clan leader's children. "I'm so sorry, ojisan."

"No one was hurt." Dad crossed his arms and glanced to Itachi and I. Itachi didn't appear interested as he held my hand, but I did. This was Team 7. I remember them. They took care of us when mom and dad couldn't. They specifically took care of us under Minato's orders. Minato. Dad. They. . . somehow knew each other. "I shouldn't have let them stray so far."

Minato took a step forward and crouched before Itachi and I. "Were you teaching them sound suppressing techniques? Scent blocking?" Itachi stepped back. He was probably too close to Itachi's liking, but also, Itachi was wary of any strangers because when he stepped back, he pulled me along too.

"Hai." Dad smirked. "They catch on quickly."

"Obito niichan, you did the fire jutsu?" I asked even though I knew.

Obito scratched his head. "Ah, yes. Yep. Yeah, I did." He gave a wary glance to dad. Then he gave me a mischievous grin. "Why? Was it super cool, huh?"

Poor kid. I grinned and gave him the validation he was asking for. "Yeah, Obito nii! Can you teach me that?"

Obito's eyes shinned.

"Asuya. You will not be playing with fire until you learn to dodge it." Dad liked to make things _not_ fun. I pouted and then my eyes landed on Minato.

"Can you teach me how to dodge?" I asked.

Minato gave a nervous laugh, as if to avoid the question. He really did so when he looked back to the forest then back at me. He looked to dad. "It's been a while, Fugaku," he stated, happily.

"It's been four years." Dad looked to us. Then he warily glanced to Minato's kind stare. There seemed to be a silent conversation going on because dad sighed. "Very well. I trust your team to take my children to the academy while we catch up."

"Always," Minato promised. They both vanished.

"Wait!" Kakashi shouted, but they were gone, and he looked severely annoyed.

I messed up. I knew I messed up. It was obvious to me, but not to Itachi or Team 7. He knew. Minato knew that I was a chakra sensor. I couldn't help my reactions. It was natural to look somewhere and acknowledge someone's presence, but now, I saw that it wasn't normal for everyone else. Where I was sensitive to the signatures of chakra and aware, not everyone else was. I had to hide my reactions. What if I did that in front of the wrong people at the wrong time?

"Ah, well, it's not that bad." Obito gave a huge grin. "It's Asuya and Itachi!" He gestured for us to follow. "Come on."

With that, Kakashi began to turn around.

Rin caught his arm sharply and tugged him forward. "He said, 'team,' Kakashi, and team means all three of us." She was grinning happily, ignoring Kakashi's glare.

"This is a waste of time. We could be training." Kakashi directed his glare to Obito. "This is your fault."

"Come on, you didn't notice them either," Obito grumbled. Then, he gave a sly smirk. "I bet Minato is apologizing on your behalf like he always does."

"Not as much as he does for you," Kakashi shot back.

Rin sighed and followed beside us. "You're both admitting that two kids managed to slip behind you. Both of you need practice and both of you are going to be scolded by Minato." I glanced at her as both boys denied the possibility. I forgot how animated those in Team seven were. Always portrayed as happy and easy going. They were characters that coped with cheerful humor and banter while their comrades died almost everyday. Perhaps, it was the best way to cope.

The walk to the academy was blurred to me. It wasn't anything surprising. Memories in = my lifetime were blurred due to the amount of thinking I put in. When I would blink away my thoughts, I would look down at tmy hands to make sure I was real. That this was me and not someone else. It was hard to believe, but it was happening, and there was no way out of it but to continue to move forward or kill myself.

Killing myself wasn't an option, so the only thing that came to mind was work.

I had a job to do.

I opened the classroom door and stepped inside with Itachi. Time to go to work.


	5. The Academy Arc: Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews.**

* * *

 **The Sacrificed Disciple**

 **-Chapter Four-**

* * *

 _"A teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide; a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself."  
_

 _-Bruce Lee_

* * *

We passed with flying colors.

It wasn't anything surprising, but it appeared to be for our sensei, who assessed our abilities. Aburame Kyo-sensei marked off and scribbled on his clipboard all the while looking constipated, as if he couldn't believe that some five year old kids were doing what a genin should be doing. Of course, that's what dad had assessed us to be in: the rank of a genin.

It wasn't anything to be celebrated or envious about. In six months time, we'd be graduating with a hitai-ate too big for our foreheads and a special 'good luck' kick out the gates of Konohagakure. The thought of it made me sick with anticipation. The elders would make sure to brutally up our training within the six month time frame. Then again, Itachi was more likely to get the special, brutal training rather than me.

Over the years, dad made sure to keep me out of their claws because of my gift, and that was said in the upmost loosest sense because it wasn't so much a gift but rather a handicap. Sure, I meditated and studied, but it wasn't enough. Father and mother were busy, and since father was the only one who knew of this peculiarity of mine, well, he was the only one who could teach me. there was only so much I could do meditating.

And while I was away from Itachi during these intensive training, he was advancing farther than me. He already knew how to do the Goukakyuu no Jutsu. It hurt to acknowledge that small piece of fact. Despite being the one with the most mature cognitive abilities, I was still. . . sensitive. Manipulative. Weird, and plain lacking in seriousness too, but also, sensitive. The elders didn't take me seriously. They thought that Itachi was the prodigy, and I was just. . . advanced for my age. When in reality, I was close to Itachi in stamina and taijutsu. Our abilities were on par, but if it continued like this, we would be. . . separated beyond repair.

I didn't want to be separated.

Team 7 wasn't waiting for us at the academy gates when we finished. I couldn't sense them anywhere nearby. It seemed they jumped at the chance to ditch us all along. Not that I was offended. Ok. I was a little offended. I finally had them in my grasp, and they just up and left.

The logical part of me knew that Obito was a keystone in the whole disaster of plans in the future, but I couldn't bring myself to hate him. It just wasn't realistically possible. It was the same way I would regard the fictional villains from a third perspective. It was all a matter of perspective, and I've come to love the villains in the Naruto verse. The main reason why I stuck around and watched through all those episodes was due to how human the villains were made out to be. They had their flaws, their own sense of justice, and it was reasonable. These characters, these beings lived their own worlds shaped by their preconceived beliefs.

Obito. . . In his mind, everything he did was justified until the end.

Nagato. Itachi. Zabuza.

They all died with a sense of redemption.

Because even though they knew what they did was wrong, at the time, they thought it was the only way to do the right thing.

No. Obito didn't do anything wrong to me, personally, and I had this horrible habit of dissociating myself from all of this. Thinking too much. Losing track of time and myself. It was easy to fall into the old habits that I was accustomed to when I was in the womb. I was conscious. I was alive, and I was aware of it.

Something like that. . . No one could really be okay after something like that. Years of solitude did that to people, and in that time of darkness before I found Itachi's heartbeat, I was alone. So alone. . . Maybe that's why I was so sensitive and easily attached to the people I had now.

But I couldn't dwell on it.

I shuddered out of my thoughts when I felt Itachi's cool hand grasp mine. I glanced at him in acknowledgement before I allowed him to lead me out of the classroom. The slips of paper that stated we'd be put in the first floor with students in their last year of the academy was grasped in our other hands. Since we passed everything with ease, what was left was to score in the advanced levels, then we score in the final test to see if we'd become genin.

If we did. . . we'd become genin at an age that shouldn't be morally accepted, but the war machine was a beast that needed to be fed constantly, and every village struggled to feed it. It was why students in the academy with advanced chakra control were quickly put into classes designed to throw them out into the field as soon as possible. Itachi and I were lucky to be part of a clan because at least we had our family to train us for what was to come, but other candidates weren't as lucky to have those resources.

We weren't prepared, but we were as prepared as we can be, and if we survived through it all, our reward would be a field promotion to chunin.

Like Kakashi.

Like Minato.

Like Itachi.

All the greatest shinobi of Konohagakure were great because they survived. The legend that made them feared and adored and hated was only because they fought their battles and survived.

They were thrown in the gutter because they had more chakra control yet less chakra at a young age while those with an abundance of chakra yet horrible chakra control were protected in the academy and continued their training. It was why Kakashi was younger then Rin and Obito. He was already sent to war under Minato's supervision, it was logical and reasonable, but it still couldn't shake off the cold, hard feeling of abandonment from a village that I was born into to protect.

We left the academy to find dad waiting at the school's entrance. I trudged forward tiredly and leaned against his pant leg. Overthinking was too stressful.

Dad was leaning against the gate with arms crossed. "Asuya, there will come a time where I cannot baby you anymore."

Yeah. Sure, but right now I was tired, and sitting on dad's shoulders sounded much more pleasant than walking back to the Uchiha Compound. I just yawned and rubbed my eye, and that was all it took. He gave a sigh, one that was quick to associate itself whenever I was concerned. Then he lifted me up and placed me on his shoulders.

Dad looked to Itachi. "I'm fine," my brother stated placidly, but dad lifted him up and heaved him against his hip anyways.

"How were the results?" Dad asked as he strolled towards home.

"We'll be graduating in six months," I mumbled before I placed my chin on top of dad's scruff of hair and let my arms fall loosely on the side.

Dad nodded, and my limp hands swayed a little at the motion. He didn't congratulate us or anything. He stayed silent for a while, and I used that moment to ask the one question that was dying to come out ever since I saw Minato. "Tou-chan, where did you and Minato-san go?" I moved slightly so that I could glance at him from the side.

Dad rolled his eyes up to catch mine. "We went to have a couple drinks."

"But tou-chan," I mumbled.

"Yes, Asuya-chan?" Father didn't hide the tiny smirk as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How do you know Minato-san?"

"He graduated in the same year as your ka-chan." my eyes widened in curiosity. Itachi gave me that look. It was the same look he would give before he'd try to snoop around and figure out what I was up to. I gave my brother a quick smile.

"He's ka-chan's friend?"

Dad gave a nod. "They were in the same team lead by Jiraiya-sama. Those put in Team Seven are usually genin who have heavy-handed assault specialties or abilities. They're the muscle team that charge on the offensive. Well, they have a reputation of it. The main reason teams are formed at a young age is for compatibility and growth reasons. You tend to work together better with someone you grew up with in strength. However, it doesn't usually happen. cases like that are rare, like the Ino-Shika-Cho or the Legendary Sennin."

"So they're no longer a team?"

"It doesn't mean they're not comrades and friends. Your ka-chan is a chunin, and Minato is a special jonin. Their third teammate died when they were still genin, and after that, well they moved on."

"And you tou-chan?"

"I graduated a couple years earlier than your ka-san. Then I was appointed clan leader when I was 20, after the former clan leader, Uchiha Kagami, died in the early stages of war." Dad paused and stayed silent for a long time. Perhaps, the subject was something he no longer wanted to discuss because he didn't speak after. I stayed silent, mulling over the new information. Dad paused once the Uchiha gates could be seen, and he let us down with a careful ease that startled even me. I glanced at him expectantly as he settled me on my feet and stayed crouched before us.

"In six months," he began. It was a tone that held no hesitation, and I feared what he would say next. "You two will be separated from training with each other."

We glanced at each other, and Itachi was the first to speak. "Do the elders mean to separate us?"

Dad eyed us with a calculative gaze before he gave a long sigh and patted my head. It felt too careful. As if he was afraid to break me, and in turn, break Itachi. "The Uchiha clan has never come upon a case where the patriarch has twin heirs. In six months time, they will have me choose."

No. I had a sinking feeling that this was exactly where Itachi's breaking point began. The entire training regime. He had to get smarter, faster, and stronger. He had to be the perfect heir, the deadliest weapon to be used as a catalyst for the revolt, but Itachi, he did it all so that he could protect Sasuke, his clan, Konoha.

Looking at Itachi now, I could almost see him coming to the same revelation. He looked to me, and I could almost hear the words he spoke to me long ago:

 _'I'll protect you.'_

It wasn't visible, but I could almost feel my brother tense. Of course, we knew this, but it was different when our father said it out loud. The words would become true. They would become reality. Itachi would be chosen as heir. This I knew. I've always known. The clan elders already favored him more than me, but I didn't care about that. I didn't care about being the clan head. I cared about what that stress would cause my brother, and in turn, I cared about not getting as strong as him in order to shield him from the cause of that stress.

"Itachi, never abandon your brother." Dad's voice was ominous, but the look he cut towards me was enough to make me stiffen on the spot. I narrowed my eyes at him as he spoke: "Asuya," His words were hushed, so carefully spoken as if I was a feather easily ruffled and easily displaced by the slightest of disturbances. "No matter what, you must stay close."

But I was no feather. I was not delicate. I was a hurricane of anger and confusion. I was the storm inside of a mortal body. A soul so dispassionate and so numb from the world around it.

When father spoke those words, I wondered if he knew that I was already _thousands of leagues away._

Father didn't stay for dinner. He cooked us rice and vegetables, then he sat down with us at the dinner table with a paper and pen. He wrote down our new training regime and told us that we were allowed to explore Konohagakure within our curfew. He left us to read over the paper with scribbled notes and when father came back, the severity of his expression was almost believable if it weren't for the notes of his handwriting betraying the storm hidden beneath his fingertips. He was worried, I could tell, but as he strapped his utility belt around his waist and made sure that his kunai were accounted for, I knew that he was going to leave despite his worry.

He wasn't going to change his mind halfway or ask us if we'd be fine by ourselves. It was expected of him to fulfill his duty, and for that, I admired him. He glanced at us, and I shot out of my chair and jumped into his arms. He caught me halfway and pulled me towards him. I hugged his neck fiercely. "Tou-chan, will I be in trouble if I eat all of the cake in the fridge?"

Dad laughed. It was a deep rumble in his belly that spiked the warmth of his chakra. He pulled me away. "Make sure not to eat it all in one sitting." Dad looked to Itachi and patted his head. "You take care now." Dad crouched down and pushed away a strand of wavy hair that was settled above my eye. "Make sure to look after each other."

"Hai," Itachi and I chorused.

When the door closed before us, the house felt cold and heavy like an entire weight was throbbing on my shoulders. I kept my smile on and bared with it because Itachi's expression was fragile, and I knew it wasn't because our parents would be gone for almost if not for more than a week. It was because of the words that echoed behind us, forever following us until we decided that the path we strive for is not. . . really. . . _ours._

My smile faded away and I sniffed.

Itachi's gaze snapped to me. Scared. Alert. I was his center of attention. My behaviors, antics, and words being absorbed like a sponge. It frightened me. I was on constant watch, like something that needed to be taken care of, but then again, maybe I should. Maybe dad and Itachi and mom could read me better than I think. Maybe they knew that a soul dispassionate and indifferent about the world around me was as fragile as a leaf fluttering in a distant storm. I could be easily shaken, easily hurt because in my blind confusion, I've made bonds. I've learned to love those in my life. . .

It was a dangerous thing to have with a soul that remained a shadow of oneself.

I brought my palms to my eyes, and I sniffed because something was running down my nose and my eyes were getting blurry with tears. I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment because deep down, I wasn't crying because my parents left us.

I was crying because I was relieved.

It was frightening.

* * *

Compared to the training regime that dad left us, the academy was a piece of cake.

Psyche.

I've learned something about myself on the first day of school, and it was the fact that I was a lone wolf. I was only ever comfortable by Itachi's side or my parents, but other than that, I couldn't stand anyone else. It was like a cheese grater against my nerves as I forced myself to sit through the day. Children were laughing and shouting at each other from across the room. Most of all, they were shouting at us, calling us names, and did everything within their power to get a reaction out of us.

It didn't work.

We sat through the lessons, through lunch, and through quizzes without a word to each other, without even looking at each other. I didn't have to look at Itachi to know what he was thinking. To us, the academy was a waste of time.

I was trudging alongside Itachi, barely keeping up as we passed the academy gates. There was no parents or guardians to greet the children in school. There was a lack of shinobi anywhere around the vicinity except for the chunin and genin I would catch glances of hopping the roofs. The tension around us was hard to break out of. A constant reminder that the war waged against us was becoming a losing battle.

It was said in the old life that the turning point of war wasn't in our favor until the Yellow Flash blew up the Kanabi Bridge, but not without the sacrifice of one Uchiha Obito. They were still too young if I was judging correctly, and the fact that the Yellow Flash wasn't really being mentioned as the Yellow Flash, in the rumors whispered in the markets, meant that Namikaze was still too young, too weak to make a name for himself.

I paused, stopping in my tracks when I felt rather than saw someone get in our way. Without even glancing, I knew that this random Uchiha who appeared before us had shunshinned in our way.

"Uchiha Itachi," the man stated somberly. "Your presence is requested by the elders."

And so it starts.

The lack of invitation extended to me wasn't lost on my part. The elders rarely had anything to do with me. Father made it so. The first and last time they came to watch my training, I wasn't able to do the Goukakyuu no Jutsu whereas Itachi was able to. It was the ultimate test of worthiness as an Uchiha shinobi. If I wans't able to pass the test of mastering the Gokakyu no Jutsu, then I was no warrior in their eyes.

I looked up and gazed into the indifferent eyes of the Uchiha before me. How did I look like to him? Weak and fragile compared to my brother?

I would overhear the stories told by the Uchiha in our compound. The stories of the first Uchiha twins.

Two shells resided in the womb, but only one soul was shared.

I held the weaker soul in their eyes.

Little did they know that I was not weak.

I was old.

So very old.

Itachi looked to me and gave a small bow of his head.

I gave a small smile. "But you promised we'd train. . ."

Itachi's gaze looked blank and empty as he whispered, "Sorry, Asuya. Maybe next time." The older Uchiha put his hand on Itachi's shoulder, and with one last pull of chakra, I watched them both vanish from my eyes. I kicked at a small pebble and watched it bounce off of the wooden fence beside me. I gave a sigh and made my way opposite of the Uchiha compound. There was no way I was going back to an empty house.

I pulled on the straps of my backpack and marched towards the training grounds father would take me so that I could meditate in peace. I passed through the market place, watching as shinobi and civilian alike mingled with the vendors. People bustled about shouting about their on sales and favorable prices, but somewhere along the shouts and laughter I heard several gasps.

Like a domino effect, silence began to spread like a fever through the market. People turned towards the same general direction that came from the huge village gates that I could see towering over even the tallest building there. I scrambled on top of a wooden crate to get a better view over the crowd, and I gazed at the three prominent figures that steadily paced themselves through the crowd.

People immediately moved out of their way whispering praises of hope. I've never tired of finding the whole ordeal to be astonishing. To see the three sanin in living flesh. Three characters that were carved in pencil and imagination were living and breathing before me. Alive. This wasn't fantasy, I reminded myself as I mesmerized the red war paint cutting like a scar vertically through Jiraya's piercing gaze.

The silver haired man looked somber, nothing like the comical pervert that he was know as. His eyes were blackened underneath from lack of sleep, and his jaw was tense as he murmured something to the blonde woman beside him who was steadily pacing herself between the two sannin that were twice her size.

She said something back to Jiraya. Just as she did, her golden stare flickered towards me. I tensed. Tsunade-hime. The Godaime Hokage and renowned healer who could pulverize a mountain with one flick of her finger. To know that that kind of strength resided in these three people. . . It was no wonder why the warriors in this world were renowned as gods.

I broke away from her stare. It held the same indifference as it would when regarding a fly. I had to get out of here and go to the training grounds. I jumped off the wooden crate and scrambled through the crowd, taking advantage of the lack of moving on their part. When the market was way behind me, I was allowed to breathe evenly once again.

Exploring Konohagakure was both overwhelming and mildly anti-climatic in a way. Anti climatic because I was born here, raised in an environment that should feel new to me when it wasn't, but there was this sense of wonderment as I looked at the culture so entirely different from the world of before. Scriptures of kanji seals lined the ancient walls of Konoha. Walls that were formed when Konohagakure was first founded. Who created these seals? Was it the Uzumaki who came by to raise defensive barriers along the walls as a sort of diplomatic gift?

There were many things that captured my interest, but the last time I visited the public library, there was little to none information on the details of the small things. Everything felt like a generalization. All I read were small paragraphs that summarized the entire history in the timespan under 80 years.

It didn't feel like that long.

80 years since Konohagakure born? Then what about the thousands of years before that? Shinobi can't have just popped up one day and say, "Hey, we're shinobi. Look at us. We're evolved!" No. Nothing was true. Secrets were so tightly knit together that no one questioned them. It made me wonder what happened to those who did.

And this was real right? This wasn't some tv show from the world of before. This was real life. There shouldn't be glitches in the matrix or badly formed plot structure from the creator himself. No. Everything happened for a reason whether its by God or by a pattern of unfortunate events.

I closed my journal when I felt a bright chakra from the corners of where my sensing was limited, but it was there. I slid the closed journal into my book bag and buttoned it closed. The satchel was a little raggedy and used, but it was still mine, and it had mostly my biggest secrets in it, but it was fine because I've written everything in English. I wasn't about to leave my stuff out in the open anymore. Not after Itachi snooped through my stuff.

This was the best solution since I didn't know how to seal yet.

I stood up and pretended as if I was practicing all along. The chakra lurked closer, not trying to hide itself at all as I stared up at the tree, contemplating it in silence. I placed my hands together and fluctuated my chakra to my toes. Chakra felt odd, like a balm of vaseline soothing itself through my veins. I couldn't quite get used to the fact, and so, it was harder to control my chakra, to fluctuate it to a degree that was acceptable to my peers, but if It tried hard enough, I would ignore the sensation and put it in the back of my mind until it was but an itch I couldn't scratch.

I placed my first foot on the bark, imagining the way Itachi was able to climb the tree a while back. The little smile on his face as I stared at him in wonderment. Itachi didn't have the same problem as me however. I stepped again and again, walking up the tree with little trouble before I sat on the highest branch that could hold me. I leaned against the rough bark and stared blankly at the canopy of trees. Three meters to the west I could hear the faint scurrying of a squirrel that must have felt me the same as I felt it.

I turned my head back and sighed. Itachi didn't have to hide from the Uchiha elders. Itachi didn't sense with chakra. He sensed with his hearing. Which was why I could feel the warmth of the chakra of one Namikaze Minato almost touching me as he lingered right above my head on a branch behind me. He didn't make a sound. I couldn't even hear him breath. He gave no indication that he was there, but I flinched anyway.

He didn't say anything, but I sighed, knowing that he didn't have to say anything in the first place. I gave myself away. Again.

He appeared in front of me. "Hello." He gave a cheery smile. I blinked, and then looked away unsure.

"Um, hi." Was this normal among shinobi? I heard a saying somewhere about how shinobi don't sneak up on other fellow shinobi comrades. It was wrong and almost always resulted in a fight, but then again, I wasn't a shinobi. Not yet anyway.

"What are you doing so far from home?"

"I'm still in Konoha. . ." Now I was definitely unsure. His gaze was a little mischievous if slightly knowing, and I didn't know if I liked it or not.

"That's true, isn't it." That warm smile was still in place as he regarded me. Then he glanced around. "This place brings back memories."

I raised a brow. "What?"

"Fugaku's always been a conniving one. He knew I'd get curious." Minato leaned down. The blazing chakra had me flinching away, tensing. "I'm a sucker for lost causes." He gave a dramatic sigh.

I gaped. That was. Surprising. But then. I jumped to my feet. "I'm," I pause, still reeling at that poor act. "I'm not a lost _cause_!"

His eyes closed and his whole expression radiated the sun on a good day. "But you are to the majority of your family, aren't you?" With every word he spoke, he looked more sullen, and damn, this man, this shinobi, was a way better actor then me. "I haven't exactly introduced myself, have I?" He raised his fist and a smile broke out across his face. "Namikaze Minato. Special Jonin."

This man was full of surprises. I scanned through the vague memories of how his character had been portrayed. Serious. Sullen. Cheerful and a bit girly. Nothing like. . . well this. He still had those qualities to him, but he didn't seem as socially inept as the manga portrayed him as. This Minato seemed perceptive and strangely intelligent. He knew just what to say to make one say it themselves, and maybe to some, that seemed to be socially inept, but to me, it was. . . it was as if he succeeded in mastering an art.

"U-Uchiha Asuya!" I gave an excited grin because the only logical reason that he was showing interest had to be father. He probably told Minato or maybe Minato just rung it out of him. I had sensory skills similar to Minato. I wasn't some lost cause. Not to him.

Minato's grin never faltered. Even when he vanished, and I had to search for him. Only to find him below me, standing at the bottom of the tree I was on. "Come and find the real me." I didn't pause at his words as he vanished. I settled on the clearing with a crouch and brushed my fingers over the grass. My eyes closed, and I slipped into the meditative state of mind. Sure, I was imitating the Nidaime's special pose, but I wanted to look cool just this one time.

And it helped too.

With a brush of a finger, I could better steady my focus on the ground and the different variations of nature chakra and the familiar blue chakra signature belonging to Minato. I realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought when I felt several blue chakra signatures around me various yards away, and then one steady signature right behind me.

I blanched and ate dirt when he kicked me in the back. I had no time to react. No time to even feel him coming. He was just there, and he had been there for probably some time because I was closing off my awareness near me in order to focus outwards rather than trying to expand my focus so that I could sense everywhere around me.

So. . . Maybe the Nidaime only did that when his teammates were around him to protect him as he mentally focused on distant signatures. In coming chakra, five yards away. I simply dodged and brought out three dull kunai, flinging them towards the chakra signature that was to the right of me before even looking. The signature moved out of the way and jumped back in the forest, but not before another chakra signature sprung out from underneath me and entrapped me on all sides until my head was the only thing poking out from the ground.

I struggled for a moment. There was no room to move. I huffed and dirt rose up into my nose, making me cough and sneeze. So this was how it felt. . .

Minato was standing next to me with that same little smile. "You're a sensor," he acknowledged. "But you focused too much on expanding your distance that it's leaving you rather. . ." He paused for that same dramatic affect. Then he laughed and gave a simple shrug. "Well, you're only half here, half there if you know what I mean."

He glanced up at the sun. "Oh no, I'm late!" He looked wide eyed to me, and I felt the interlocked chakra of the jutsu sticking me to the ground fade. "You can dig yourself out? Right?" He was rubbing the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "Okay, well, make sure to think about what I said. Bye!"

I stared at where he was.

 _What?_


End file.
